Buon Natale

Buon Natale, Merry Christmas & Happy Hanukkah

From our house to yours

Last minute chance to pick up what's hot and cold on Menu for Hope 6

There's still time to peruse the Menu for Hope 6 offerings and maybe pick up some great treats. Chez Pim has taken the compiled list of Foodie related  bid items and the current standings of the bids to give you an idea of where the bidding is headed. so the items that aren't so hotly persued might be just the thing you didn't think you had a chance for, but now you know that your  odds are higher. So don't delay and Donate to win some of the fabulous treasures offered up to support the UN Food Programme and the Purchase for Purpose Project that supports local low income growers provide the needed food for the UN Food Programme.

This is our view from  our balcony currently and part of your experience if you win our

• 2 night B&B with Market tour (bid item EU35) 

Some other random offerings

• Five Culinaria Books from the Traveler's Lunchbox (EU29)
• A weeks Stay at Il Palazzone, Montalcino  quafing Brunello by the pool (WB02)
• All Clad Sauce Pan by Zen Can Cook (UE33)
•  100% Fair Trade Coffee Sampler pack (UE13)
• Kitchen aid Mixer from Tomato Melbourne +Food +Drink(AP09)

That barely scratches the surface, so have a look and make a donation and a few bids.

Crumiri Cookies, Not for Wimps

 

Why, you ask are these cookies not for wimps? Because they will build up your muscle trying to squeeze them through the open star tip on your pastry bag and maybe even have you saying a choice explicative or two as well. Yet, they really are a buttery corn meal "stick" and a delicious cappuccino dunker that hails from the Casale Monferrato region of Piedmont and worth the muscle building.

 

Domenico Rossi invented them around 1870 and named them after a popular drink at that time called Khrumiro. According to the Krumiri Rossi web site, when the king of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele II died the biscotti's characteristic bend of the coookie was most likely introduced as a tribute to the king and his famous handlebar moustache. Later they patented the name and cookie. Perhaps the patent is why they are generally referred to as Crumiri by the rest of us. Anyway, what ever the name, they are quite tasty and worth adding to your cookie basket.  You will find them all over Turin in many of the pastry shops and they make their way on to the long line of biscotti on the grocery shelves as well. Making them is a great option if you don't have them readily available to you. I took the liberty to have my way with them and turned them into a small candy cane type shape for getting into the holiday spirit and you can to, but normally they are long sticks and bent mid way for an authentic shape. They are cooked until quite golden brown. I went a tad lighter as I love the contrast of the two colors, but going a bit further when you bake them yourself is quite acceptable and encouraged. Do give them a try and do enjoy them at other times of the year than the holidays as they are really worth the effort.

 

Crumiri Biscotti

Yeilds about 4 dozen small or less larger ones

Ingredients

280 g butter, room temperature ( 1 1/4 cup)

160 g sugar, caster or granulated (3/4 cup)

4 egg yolks

2 tsp vanilla extract

280 g corn meal(1 1/2 cup)

200 g pastry or all purpose flour (2 cup)

Method

Cream the butter and sugar together, with a whisk by hand  or with a paddle on a stand mixer.

Add the 4 egg yolks and blend well.

Mix in the vanilla.

Mix the corn and pastry flour together, blnding well.

Add the mixed flours in to the butter mixture, just to fully incorporate.

Fit a medium/large open star pastry tip into a pastry bag.

Take half of your mixture and place it into your bag.

Pipe out on to a papered sheet tray or greased and floured tray.

Repeat with the other half of the batch.

The dough will be firm so take your time and squeeze it out

with steady pressure.

For traditional shape

Pipe out long 4 inch lengths

Bend the cookies in the middle to look like a <

Or pipe in the shape of a 9 or a cane.

Bake in a moderate oven 325* for about 12-14 minutes.

Cool completely before storing.

 

2013 January update.

Here's another version I found that purports to be close to the secret original recipe.  I need to finish the ones languishing in my Krumiri tin before trying this one out. 

Secret Original Krumiri knock off recipe (allegedly)

Ingredients:
butter 210 g 

sugar 120 g 

vanilla
3 egg yolks
salt 

white flour 150 g corn flour 210 g

Mix the flour corn, flour, butter, sugar, egg yolks, a pinch of salt and vanilla. 

Let stand before piping out.

Sardines Piemontese Style for Seven Fishes Feast

 This time of year there is always so much going on, but we're all always wondering what to make for those special occaions. Joe over at Italyville is hosting his 2nd annual Seven Fishes Feast event. Joe's family hails from Calabria, down in the southern part of Italy where this traditional Christmas Eve feast originated and he always has some great recipes on his blog. He'll be rounding up a variety of dishes to share with everyone to try for your own holiday feast. Be sure and stop by for the roundup which should be tomorrow the 19th at Italyville.
Up here in land locked Piedmont, the 7 fishes tradition is not really celebrated by native Piemontese, but it isn't to say that fish isn't a focus now or other times of the year, as most all Italians love fish. The Piemontese particularly love their anchovies, which find their way into their traditional bagna cauda and just about any other  winter vegetable you might imagine. Last year I shared a simple traditional anchovy antipasto, whose recipe you'll find here. This year it's another antipasto, but featuring fresh sardines.  If your only experience with sardines is thones in the can, I do reccomend trying them fresh. I can still remember the first tie I had them grilled at a tiny cafe at the end of the Algarve in Portugal and they were such a revelation. This simple dish has a few variations but I like the simplicity and mildness of this one. This recipe does need to sit a couple of days to absorb the flavors. There's still time to get these made before you plan to serve them. These lightly pickled fish will get the juices flowing for the rest  of the feast that is to come without overpowering or sitting too heavy.

Sardines Piemontese Style
 Serves 6

1/2# (250g) fresh sardines, cleaned and gutted
flour to dredge the fish in
Olive oil to pan fry

1 cup white wine
1/2 c white wine vinegar
1/4- 1/2 red onion sliced
S&P

After you have your cleaned sardines, make sure to pat dry if you havejust washed them.
Dredge the fish in some white plain flour and set aside. I shook them up in a bag with flour last time and found that to be too much flour, so go easy on the flour. A quick pass throught the plate with the four on both sides of the fish is plenty.  Sprinkle a bit of salt over all the fish.
 Heat your skillet up and add a small to medium amount of oil. You don't want them to stick nor to you want them supper oily.
Once hot, add your fish and allow to lightly brown on both sides.
emove from pan and allow to cool to room temerature.

In a small sauce pan combine the wine, vinegar and onion.
Bring to a boil and gently simmer for a few minutes till the onion is sft, but still has some body to it.
Remove from hear. Add a  genrous pinch of salt and pepper. Let col to room temperture before pouring over your single layer of fish tht is at room temperature as well.  I like to use a shallow tupperware type container
Cover in an airtight container and refrigerate 2 days. You might want to scoop up the liquid from one corner of the pan and drizzle it over the fish once or twice while they are rsting in the refridgerator
Serve 2-3 per person at room temperature, with or with out garnish.
At home it is usually served, as is.

Menu for Hope 6-Donate and You might win a stay at Bella Baita

Menu for Hope 6 is off and running!
December 14-25, 2009

If you aren't familiar with this fund raising campaign you might want to read more about its origins at Chez Pim's blog here and all about how to participate here. 
In a nut shell, Pim reached out to her fellow food bloggers and their audiences in response to the devastating tsunami that hit southeast Asia 5 years ago and this effort has evolved into supporting the UN World Food Programme. This years focus is one close to my heart for a variety of reasons, as the proceeds will be going to a " new initiative at the WFP called Purchase for Progress (P4P).  P4P enables smallholder and low-income farmers to supply food to WFP’s global operation.  P4P helps farmers improve farming practices and puts more cash directly into their pockets in return for their crops.  This will also help buoy local economy by creating jobs and income locally.... More on P4P at http://www.wfp.org/purchase-progress."

Now, I'm reaching out to you to ask you to join in this challenge to raise money while donating money for raffle tickets for a chance to bid and possible win a wide variety of fabulous offerings donated from many food related bloggers and such from around the world. You donate $10 per entry, you'll have a chance to win fabulous bid items from all over the world. You can make as many donations as you wish; the more you enter, the more chances you'll have of winning.

This is where I have the pleasure of telling you that Fabrizio and I are donating a 2 night stay with us at Bella Baita, (Bid item code: EU35) our mountain retreat in the Italian Alps. We know you'll want to wander around our neighborhood, breath in the fresh air and savor the spectacular French border views that are to be had in our "off the beaten path" inn here in Piedmont, but we've got a guided market tour in Pinerolo in store for you as well. You just need to make sure you're here for Wednesday or Saturday morning as you won't want to miss out on this tempting part of the offer. You'll feel like a local as we shop our way through this twice weekly outdoor market that has been held in the same location for over 1,000 years.

We'll sample some of the local cheeses, but we'll be spoiled for choice as there are just so many to choose from and plenty of local fruits and vegetables to go along with or pick up all the ingredients for a picnic lunch later.

That is, unless we spoil ourselves with a trip to our favorite cafe with all the killer pastries and the  chocolate shop that makes their own version of Nutella that will have you checking your baggage allowance to see how many jars you will be able to bring home.

And naturally, there is the "view" from Bella Baita that is truly worth the visit.  Don't take our word for it, check out what some of our guests have had to say about their visit with us on Trip Advisor.

We recommend that you plan your visit with us sometime April through October, but other times would be considered and, naturally, subject to availability, as we are a small inn. The Bid item (code: EU35) offer is valid through Dec 2011, giving you plenty of time to plan that Italian holiday you've always wanted to take, or maybe you just want a short break to recharge the battery.
Be tempted by all of the European offerings where ours is located at author and bon vivant David Lebovitz's blog.

Have some fun and help a worthy cause that benefits many.
Bid now and bid often, we're awaiting your visit!

You can browse the varied bid items by region at all of the sites listed below:
Europe (hosted by David Lebovitz)
Asia Pacific (hosted by Ed of Tomatom)
USA: East Coast (hosted by Helen of Tartelette)
USA: West Coast (hosted by Shauna of Gluten Free Girl)
Canada (hosted by Tara of Seven Spoons)

To Donate and Enter the Menu for Hope Raffle


Here's what you need to do:

1. Choose a bid item or bid items of your choice from our Menu for Hope main bid item list.

2. Go to the donation site at Firstgiving and make a donation.

3. Please specify which bid item you'd like in the 'Personal Message' section in the donation form when confirming your donation. You must write-in how many tickets per bid item, and please use the bid item code.

Each $10 you donate will give you one raffle ticket toward a bid item of your choice. For example, a donation of $50 can be 2 tickets for EU01 and 3 tickets for EU02 - 2xEU01, 3xEU02.

4. If your company matches your charity donation, please check the box and fill in the information so we could claim the corporate match.

5. Please check the box to allow us to see your email address so that we can contact you in case you win. Your email address will not be shared with anyone.



And please pass this post along to friends and others via links on your blog and via social networks, such as Twitter and Facebook. You can use the Share This button below.
If you have any questions you can contact me at Marla at bellabaita point com

Update: Here is a link to a streamlined bidding form, Menu for Hope 6 widget,  that simplifies the bidding process.