Chiuso per ferie (?)

Cari lettori, care lettriciIl caldo infuria ed è giunto il momento di preparare la valigia e di andare in vacanza.Da queste pagine abbiamo cercato di offrivi un panorama abbastanza vasto della lingua e della cultura italiana che ci proponiamo di riprendere, con nuovi esercizi e con nuove attività, agli inizi di settembre.Durante questi mesi estivi potrete trovare sul blog alcuni video che non

Rum, Raisin, and Ricotta Danish Braid

Daring Bakers June Challenge

Danish Braid

Danish dough, or as it's sometimes called laminated or layered dough, is a pastry technique. It's like the beginning steps of learning puff pastry," but not nearly as complex", so says the author Sherry Yard of (The Secrets of Baking). By learning this technique you can create a whole slew of different recipes, of course I would be contented just getting through this one!!

Although it was time consuming, it wasn't too difficult to do, as long as I had my directions close at hand.

Of course I had to put my Italian twist on it, so for my filling I decided to do sweetened ricotta cheese, with rum soaked, golden raisins. I soaked the raisins over night in the rum so they were definitely "drunk"!!



I wouldn't call this "braided to perfection" by any means. I prefer to call it a, well.... a more "rustic look".



The recipe called for Cardamon, which I didn't own, but really wanted to try, besides, I thought that it would go well with the ricotta . I searched a few stores for the cardamon, and ended up getting it at Whole Foods, it was ground, and only $4.99, which I thought was a steal. In my search I even found it as high as $15.00 (ouch!)

I was anxious to try Cardamon, because I've been reading that it's the "new Cinnamon". I can't say that I'm 100% sold on it yet, I'll have to try it again in something else. I do love it in Chai tea though!

The egg wash made for a beautiful golden brown finish!

Can you see the layers? It really worked!

I have a deep respect for bakers, with their exact measuring and patience, something I am learning to do in this group!

A big "Thank You" to our host's this month, Kelly, of Sass and Veracity, and Ben, over at What's

Cooking, for helping me get out of my "comfort zone". Go over and check out the complete recipe on their blogs.

Don't forget to check out some of the other Daring Bakers braids here.

Montefalco

Comprensione orale: livello avanzato
Segna con una crocetta solo le affermazioni VERE:
Montefalco dista circa 40 km da Perugia.
Montefalco ricorda un anello di pietra.
Montefalco sorge su una montagna.
Nei giorni in cui non c'è foschia da Montefalco si può vedere anche il Gran Sasso.
L'emblema della cittadina è un falco.
Montefalco ricorda, nella sua architettura, il suo passato di fortezza.

Il cetriolo

Comprensione orale: livello avanzatoSegna con una crocetta sole le affermazioni VERE:Il servizio è stato girato nei pressi di Terracina.Terracina si trova accanto al monte Subasio.L'agronomo intervistato si chiama Saltini.I cetrioli vengono coltivati nelle serre.Ci sono due periodi di raccolta.Il primo va da febbraio a marzo.Il secondo va da settembre a ottobre.Il periodo trascorso dalla semina

LEMON SORBETTO BLENDED WITH MASCARPONE CHEESE

Wandering through the food blogosphere we come across so many fantastic recipes. I'm always inspired by the talent of all my fellow food bloggers. I must have a list a mile long of recipes I have bookmarked to try!

Sometimes I come across a concept that is so simple, and I think"What a brilliant idea!" I knew back in April when I saw this over at Taste With The Eyes, that it was something I was going to make. Lemon and Mascarpone, oh yeah, for sure! I was eagerly waiting for the weather to warm up, which it finally did, and waiting for just the right occasion.
Having some friends over for lunch seemed to be the perfect time.

What attracted me to this was its simplicity to make, but yet an end result, that was so decadent! In fact Lori Lynn's own words were " it's embarrassingly simple". My kind of dessert, and a great "Wow" at the end of a meal.

All you do is take 1 pint of your favorite sorbet, put it on your counter and let it defrost a little, take out your food processor, and put in the sorbet along with 6oz. of mascarpone cheese. Give it a whirl until all combined and smooth. Spoon it into a pretty glass, and refreeze it. Garnish it with whatever your heart desires, I just used some lemon peel.

The best thing about this is there was no ice cream machine needed, and no one would ever know the difference!!

Slightly defrost before you serve it, that's when the true flavors come out, then you will enjoy every creamy spoonful!

My Hubby loved this so much that now he wants me to try blending an orange sorbet with the mascarpone, sort of like, an "Upscale Dreamsicle" I think the possibilities are endless, don't you?

Thanks Lori Lynn, for letting us all in on "your little secret".

WARNING!!! This could become very addicting!!

La parola "ecoballa"

Comprensione orale: livello avanzato
Segna con una crocetta solo le affermazioni VERE:
La parola ecoballa ha relazione con il problema dei rifiuti.
La parola ecoballa è una parola composta.
La parola ecoballa è composta da un suffisso greco che significa rifrazione.
La parola ecoballa è composta dal francesismo balla che significa "involto per le merci da inviare".
Le ecoballe dovrebbero essere

La partita del secolo

Comprensione orale: livello iniziale medio
Segna con una crocetta solo le affermazioni VERE
Italia-Germania fu una delle due semifinali al Mondiale di calcio di Messico 1970
Nella telecronaca originale, N. Martellini dice che l'Italia aveva perso la partita precedente contro il Messico
Lo stadio di Città del Messico si chiama "Azteca"
Il primo gol per l'Italia fu segnato da Boninsegna
La

Maradona a Napoli

Comprensione orale: livello iniziale
Segna con una crocetta solo le affermazioni VERE
Maradona a Napoli ha vinto tre scudetti
Uno degli scudetti è stato vinto nel 1987
Maradona è nato il 30 settembre
Maradona è nato a Buenos Aires
Maradona è stato soprannominato "el nino de oro"
Maradona è stato convocato in nazionale per la prima volta a 17 anni
A Napoli Maradona è diventato intoccabile

Stendhal

Comprensione orale: livello medio-avanzatoSegna con una crocetta solo le affermazioni VERE:Stendhal nacque a Milano ma fu grenoblese d'adozioneCalvino era appassionato lettore di StendhalIl suo capolavoro è "La Certosa di Parma", scritto nel 1839"La Certosa" fu scritto in un arco di tempo piuttosto lungoIl romanzo narra le vicende di Fabrizio del Dongo e del suo ritorno in prigione per rivedere

Food and a Fundraiser!

This was a busy weekend for me with not much time for blogging I was helping out in a fundraiser for my daughter and daughter in law.
The food that I'm showing is great for a crowd, especially the potatoes which are simply Idaho's or Russets, cut in planks with the skin on, tossed in olive oil and seasoned with salt, pepper, oregano, granulated garlic, paprika, and generous amounts of grated romano cheese. Bake in a 400 degree oven till crispy.

In August, my daughter, daughter in law, and niece ,will be walking 60 miles in the Chicago Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer 3 Day. Each walker makes the commitment to raise $2,200.00, all proceeds go to benefit the ongoing research to fight this disease, and find a cure.

It's not an easy task to come up with the money so they encourage the walkers to do some fundraising. We held a 2 day garage sale with things donated by friends, family and neighbors to help them meet their goal. They also held a big poker party that same night with some of the proceeds going towards their team. My daughter in law works in a big office and she came up with the idea ( after clearing it with human resources) that whoever donates $2.00 for the Cause, gets to wear jeans to work, I thought that was a great idea, who doesn't want to wear jeans instead of a shirt and tie!

Walking 60 miles is no easy feat, you have to stick to their training schedule and build up your miles, otherwise you could really hurt yourself.

As of today they are all up to about 13 mile walks, but when the actual 3-Day starts, the first day they walk 22 miles, the second day is 20, and the last day is 18.

They did it once before and let me tell you my daughter had to tape her feet to finish, she had blisters like you've never seen before! It's grueling! but so is this disease!!

Last time they walked we attended the opening ceremony where thousands were gathered to start this journey together, many walked all 60 miles holding pictures of loved ones, poster size pictures of mothers and sisters, aunts, cousins, friends they lost to this disease. They wore Tshirts with names on them, they held big banners with names of loved ones as they walked. It is truly an emotional event!

Along the route they walk, people drive by in cars and beep their horns, come out of their homes and offer water or just to say "Thank You", its that encouragement that keeps them going.

We met them along the way with band aids and Advils, new socks or a change of shoes, but mostly to encourage them to finish. My Granddaughter held up a big sign as her Mom walked by that said...My Mommy Rocks!! I Love You Mommy!! My daughter burst out in tears!!

The opening ceremony is very emotional, but the closing ceremony is even more touching!!

Friends and family form a line, now mind you, there are thousands of people, this was held in Chicago on the lake front at the time and as the walkers walk in together ,they are hand and hand, arm and arm, they all take off one shoe and raise it high above their heads in honor of the survivors, all are crying, there's not a dry eye anywhere!!!

Here are some of the survivors, many of them walked all 60 miles also, some even being pushed by family and friends in their wheel chairs, believe me it is a sight to see!

As most of you are aware of, their is a fellow food blogger who is fighting this very battle right now, her name is Bri, the name of her blog is Figs with Bri, and through the kindness of fellow bloggers and others, there is a fundraiser going on for her right now to help her seek other treatments, there is a goal to be met and although it is well on the way, it hasn't been met yet, so any donation big or small would be so appreciated.

Please take the time to read about this courageous young women if you haven't already done so, just click on the link above to get to know her and learn about the fundraiser going on.

Hopefully Bri will be walking among these survivors one day!!!

I just want to say "Thank You" Vanessa, Christa, and Julie, we are soooo proud of you girls for doing this!!

Glenn Miller

Comprensione orale: livello medio-avanzato
Segna con una crocetta solo le affermazioni VERE:
Glenn Miller morì in un incidente ferroviario in USA
Nel 1939 aveva lanciato "In the mood"
"In the mood" non ebbe un grande successo
Glenn Miller fu uno dei più grandi suonatori di trombone della storia
Aveva diretto la sua prima orchestra a New York nel '39
Nell'orchestra c'erano 4 sassofoni ed un

Enna

Comprensione orale: livello avanzatoSegna con una crocetta solo le affermazioni VEREUn intervistato afferma che la città di Enna è vivibile.Un altro intervistato dice che gli abitanti di Enna discendono dai piemontesi.Una signora sostiene che ad Enna c'è molta tranquillità.Un'altra signora afferma che ad Enna ci sono ottime spiagge.Enna sorge a 1.100 m sul livello del mare.Enna è il secondo

Addio a Dino Risi

Comprensione orale: livello avanzatoSegna con una crocetta solo le affermazioni VERE:Dino Risi è morto a 91 anni.Il suo primo film s'intitolò I mostri.Il suo film più famoso fu Il sorpasso.Il quotidiano che il giornalista cita in studio è La Repubblica.Il giornale in questione dedica tre pagine al regista scomparso.L'autore del servizio su Dino Risi si chiama Vincenzo Mollica.Secondo Risi la

AFFOGATO!!

Affogato in Italian means "drowned", and in this case it's cold vanilla gelato being drowned by pouring freshly brewed espresso all over it. Add a splash of Amaretto, and you have a wonderful ending to a great summer BBQ.

It's like having your coffee and dessert all at the same time!

Simply brew up some of your favorite espresso, I happen to like these two, and would normally use either one.

But I just so happen to have one last bag of this coffee that I have been holding on to since our trip to Italy, I decided to finally open it up and use it, I just loved the look of the bag, and the fact that I bought it in Florence.

My espresso pot is a cherished gift that I got from a very special Aunt, a family heirloom that she gave to me because she knows how much I love coffee. I love it, and I thought it would be perfect to feature it in this post.

I don't know how old it is, but I do know it makes a perfect espresso. When I first received it from her I kept it all packed up and stored away, then I thought, why? I want to enjoy it and use it, so I pulled it out and have been using it ever since!

The recipe calls for gelato, but unfortunately once you try the real thing nothing compares.

I saw this and thought I'd give it a try, sorry Ciao Bella you're not worth the $$$$!

A good quality vanilla ice cream would work just as well.

This is definitely an "Adult" version of an ice cream float, just scoop some good ice cream in a coffee cup, splash a liqueur of your choice, "drown" it with your hot espresso, and garnish with some whip cream. (optional)

I promise that once you try this, you'll soon be craving an Affogato!

Enjoy!!

Il Gorgonzola

Comprensione orale: livello avanzatoSegna con una crocetta solo le affermazioni VERE:Il servizio è stato girato in provincia di Novara.Il Gorgonzola si produce in 27 province italiane.Il signore intervistato si chiama Coletti.Appena il latte arriva negli stabilimenti di produzione, si procede al controllo di qualità dello stesso.La seguente fase è la lavorazione dei fermenti.Al Gorgonzola si

WINE, FOOD, FUN! ...A little more of my vacation

Since I took so many pictures of my recent trip I thought I would share a little more with you.

This was a tour we took in Sonoma of the Benziger family winery, they have been written up in Wine Spectator magazine because of their Green standards. Their estate is one of only a handful of vineyards in North America to be certified Biodynamic. Biodynamics is a holistic farming approach that goes a step beyond organic farming, it requires close attention to the varied forces of nature influencing the vine, along with the elimination of all chemicals.
We took a tram tour up into the vineyards where we learned how geography and weather influence their farming practices.

The Benzingers are leaders in Biodynamic and sustainable winegrowing.

Benzinger's 28,000 square foot wine cave that stores around 4000 barrels. We learned how different types of oak influence the aging and flavors of wines.
When the tour was over we got to sample their Biodynamic and other award-winning wines.

A visit to DEAN & DELUCA in Napa. Epicurean excellence at it's finest!!!

Chocolate anyone??

I've never knew or seen, so many different kinds of salts.

Parmigiano- Reggiano! the "Queen Mother", .... I would have loved to tuck her in my suitcase!

Rows and rows of delectable olives!

Any kind of paste you would need, pistachio and almond, the smell was amazing!

Crepes with Nutella, who wouldn't love that!

Add some fresh strawberries and banana, sheer bliss!!

I Picked these up at a beautiful farmers market set up right on pier 39 in San Francisco. Beautiful golden red Rainier cherries, if you haven't tried these yet, and if they are available near you, please go out and get some!!

Ruby red, sweet and delicious Bing cherries

The most gorgeous strawberries not one of them blemished!

And finally, those are seals that were sleeping all at the same time, what a sight, what a day, what a trip!

Fabriano

comprensione orale: livello medio/avanzato
Segna con una crocetta solo le affermazioni VERE:
Fabriano è in provincia di Ancona.
Fabriano si trova ai piedi delle Alpi.
Fabriano deve il suo nome alle arti medievali dei fabbri.
Nello stemma del paese campeggia un'incudine.
Fabriano è famosa per la produzione della carta.
La cattedrale è dedicata a San Vincenzo Ferreri.
La Pinacoteca è molto

Il carciofo

comprensione orale: livello avanzatosegna con una crocetta solo le affermazioni VERE:Il servizio è stato girato a La Spezia.Il carciofo si coltiva dall'epoca etrusca.Il signore intervistato si chiama Maurizio.La coltivazione del carciofo inizia con l'eliminazione delle piante vecchie.La fase seguente è l'irrigazione delle piante.La raccolta dei carciofi si realizza manualmente.Questa fase della

GRILLED VEGETABLE POLENTA TART

Polenta, you either love it or hate it! I love it, but I also realize that you have to flavor the heck out of it. Please don't ever buy those round flavorless tubes, the ones that you can cut a slice off. And on the flip side you really don't have to stir for hours and hours to make a good polenta. (although if you have the patience it's delicious). Me,I don't have patience, so I like using the instant kind, it's readily available, it's quick, it tastes great, and it comes out nice and creamy. It cooks up in no time, and right at the end you stir in all your herbs, cheese and other goodies.

In this case, I poured the creamy mixture that was flavored with fresh basil, grated Romano cheese, (lots!), pitted kalamata olives, some olive oil, salt and pepper, into a 10' tart pan. When it cools it moulds perfectly. You can even add sun-dried tomatoes, it's so good but I didn't have any on hand at the time. The key is flavor it up!

This makes a great presentation on a cake stand, and is great as a lunch, appetizer or side dish.

The sky's the limit on what kind of veggies to put on it, whatever you have on hand, or all of your favorites, I used zucchini ribbons, portabella mushrooms, onions, and red peppers. It cuts perfectly into wedges, just finish it off with shaved Pecorino and a drizzle of your favorite EV olive oil.

Buon Appetito!!!

Il materasso

comprensione orale: livello avanzatosegna con una crocetta solo le affermazioni VERE.Il servizio è stato girato a Cremona.Il signore intervistato si chiama Bivio.L'interno dei materassi è di vetro.L'esterno è in cotone e lana.La lana vergine si usa per l'inverno.Il cotone si usa per l'estate.Nei materassi vengono inserite delle fibre d'oro.Le fibre inserite servono a garantire la flessibilità