Caramelized apple pie

Dear readers,

Today I tought about the caramelized apple pie recipe, really tasty and quite simple to prepare: your weekend will be much sweeter!

Let’s go step by step to prepare the recipe and you will see it will be less difficult than expected.

Ingredients (12 slices):

2 egg yolks
2 entire eggs
200 gr of flour (7 oz)
200 gr of sugar (7 oz)
50 gr of melted butter for the mixture (1.8 oz)
60 gr butter to melt in the pan for the “caramelized” process (2.1 oz)
80 gr of sugar to caramelize the apples (2.8 oz)
Juice of half a lemon
250 gr of thinly sliced ​​apples (moisten with a few drops of lemon juice to prevent them discoloring) (8.8 oz)

Preparation

Beat and mix the two egg yolks in a bowl, the two whole eggs and 200 grams of sugar.
Melt the 50 gr of butter for a minute in a pan, at low heat, being careful not to boil it and blacked: let cool before adding it to the mixture or else you could risk to “cook” the mixture and make a real mess!
Add the cooled melted butter to the mixture, the juice of half a lemon, the flour (a little at a time) and stir gradually.

Meanwhile, cut the apples into thin slices and moisten with a dash of lemon juice, to prevent them blacken. Turn on the oven at 180 °C (356 °F) to preheat it.
Melt the 60 grams of butter in a pan of 30 cm (11 inches) diameter and then add the 80 grams of sugar: caramelized the sugar until it has reached a golden color, taking care to stir it very often, otherwise you could burn the sugar.
At this point, place the apples (as shown in figure) into the pan, pour the mixture and bake it for 45 minutes at 180 °C (356 °F).

Overturned the cake, using a plate and being careful not to burn your hands with the melted butter that may leak during the operation!

We’re done, now we could enjoy the piece of cake!

Conservation

You could store the Caramelized apple pie in a sealed plastic or glass box in the fridge up to five days. I suggest you to warm a little bit the slice before eating to enjoy more the caramelized apple.

And the wine?

For the cake with caramelized apples, I picked the 2011 Chaudelune, produced by Cave du Vin Blanc de Morgex et de la Salle.

I chose the Chaudelune for its fruity notes of pear, apple and other white pulp fruits, which is well aligned with the main aroma of the caramelized apple cake, broadening the whole taste. Moreover, the softness of the wine surrounds and fits perfectly with the sweetness of the cake and the caramelized apples.

For more about the Chaudelune, have a look directly to the review here.

If you can not find it, I recommend a sweet wine that has similar characteristics to Chaudelune, a Moscato Passito di Chambave or a Verdicchio Passito. If you cannot find these two, I recommend a more common Passito di Pantelleria or Moscato di Pantelleria, both dessert wines, however, with different characteristics, since the predominant perfumes and aromas are related to apricot, peach and dried fruit: a pleasant pairing, but not superb as the first!

Baccalà Mantecato (Salted Creamed Codfish)

Dear readers,

Today I thought about another simple traditional recipe, with a delicate flavor, the Baccalà Mantecato.

You will need a few ingredients, and to speed up the preparation, you can use the salted codfish already soaked in water.

Ingredients:

400g of salted codfish already soaked in water
50ml of liquid fresh cream
50ml of fresh whipped cream
150ml of milk
Extra virgin olive oil
Seed oil
A tablespoon of chopped parsley
A clove of garlic
The right amount of Salt and pepper
Toasted Bread for the serving

Preparation

Place the salted codfish (already soaked) in the milk, in a heated pot over low heat.

Mix it slowly and let it boil for 10 minutes, until it is soft.
Drain the salted codfish and kept the warm milk for the final step.

Place the salted codfish in a blender, making sure to add gradually a bit of vegetable oil, then a bit of olive oil and the warm milk previously used.
Add a tablespoon of chopped parsley, salt, pepper and let cool the mixture.
At this point, making sure that you have previously cooled enough the mixture, whip the cream and add it to the mixture and stir gently.

We’re done!
You can taste the Baccalà Mantecato on toasted bread as in figure!

Conservation

You can store the Baccalà Mantecato for a maximum of two days in plastic or glass sealed jar in the refrigerator.

And the wine?

For the Baccalà Mantecato I chose a Cruasé Oltrepò Pavese 2009 vintage, produced by Bruno Verdi.

The Cruasé is a Metodo Classico sparkling rosé, obtained by vinification of Pinot Noir at least 85%.
From the beautiful grain and fine and persistent bubbles, this Cruasé Bruno Verdi has an excellent flavor, good freshness, good length and structure.
On the nose, aromas of lemon, lime and citrus fruits in general.
The palate is soft and has a good mousse that favors pairing with our recipe!

Bon Appetite!

Bignè with smoked salmon mousse

Happy new year and welcome back dear readers,

Today I thought of a super fast recipe that you can really prepare in 5 minutes and it will be ideal for your interesting starters, the Bignè with smoked salmon mousse.
If you do not have available the Bignè, you can spread the salmon mousse on a classic sandwiches or toasted bread, much easier to find.

And now we start!

Ingredients:

100g of mascarpone cheese (or philadelphia cheese or cream cheese) (3.5 oz)
100g of smoked salmon (3.5 oz)
50g of fresh whipped cream (1.7 oz)
the right amount of pink pepper and salt
15/20 empty Bignè

Preparation

Cut the salmon into thin slices and add the mascarpone.
Started to blend the mixture with the mixer, taking care to add gradually milk to facilitate the blending.

Add salt, the pink pepper and whip the fresh cream with the electric beater.
Add two tablespoons of whipped cream, stir the mousse, fill the Bignè and we have finished!

Conservation

You can store the smoked salmon mousse for a maximum of two days in a sealed plastic or glass jar in the refrigerator.

And the wine?

For the Bignè with smoked salmon mousse I chose a Cruasé Oltrepò Pavese 2009 vintage, produced by Bruno Verdi.

The Cruasé is a “Metodo Classico” (also known as Champenoise method) rosé, obtained by the vinification of Pinot Noir grapes, at least 85% of the total amount.

With a beautiful grain and fine and persistent bubbles, this Cruasé Bruno Verdi has an excellent flavor, good freshness, good persistence and structure.

At the nose, aromas of lemon, lime and citrus fruits in general.
On the palate is quite soft and has a good mousse that favors the pairing with our recipe!

And now, Bon Appetit!

 

Merry Christmas!

 

Dear readers,

Here I am wishing you a very special and serene holiday for this Christmas!

Enjoy traditional and new recipes, drink good wine, eat great food and don’t forget to do what you want to do!

 

Spaghetti with Anchovies in olive oil and cherry tomatoes

Dear readers,

For this weekend I though about a very simple and quick recipe to prepare (5 mins), but so much tasty, the Spaghetti with Anchovies in oil and cherry tomatoes!

Ingredients (for 2 people):

100g of cherry tomatoes (3.53 oz)
2 cloves of garlic
Extra virgin olive oil
6 anchovies in oil

Preparation

Heat the olive oil in a pan and then put the two cloves of peeled garlic to fry.

Meanwhile, wash and dry the tomatoes and cut them in half.
Put the six anchovies in oil in the pan and “mash” them until they are “dissolved” in the oil.

Remove the two cloves of garlic from the pan and add the chopped cherry tomatoes.

Let the cherry tomatoes cook for 5 minutes over high heat till they seem as in figure below.

Serve the sauce on spaghetti: well, we’ve done!

Conservation

It’s better not to keep or store this sauce in the refrigerator: prepare it directly with the right doses!

And the wine?

For the Spaghetti with anchovies in oil and cherry tomatoes, I chose a simple wine, the Beaujolais Nouveau 2014 by George Deboeuf.

This wine is rather rounded and it has good alcohol percentage, good intensity and delicate tannin: this means that it matches the intensity of the flavor of the anchovies, the oily sensation and the cherry tomato, a tough ingredient in pairing food and wine!

At the nose, intense perfumes of ripe banana and ripe strawberries.

If you can not find it, I recommend other Beaujolais Nouveau or rosé wines with the same characteristics mentioned above. If you opt for a white, I recommend one who has a good persistence and intensity.

And now, enjoy!

 

Risotto with Carmignano red wine and Goat cheese

Hello!
Today a recipe for your weekend, the Risotto with Carmignano red wine and goat cheese, something which is not difficult to prepare, but it will give you a great pleasure!

Ingredients (4 people):

1.5 liters of broth (already in abundance salted) (507 oz)
2 cups Carnaroli rice type
1 shallot or onion
1 glass of red wine (preferably a Carmignano wine)
1 abundant knob of butter
100g of medium aged goat cheese (3 ¹⁷⁄₃₂ oz)
Grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and another knob of butter for creaming the Risotto

Preparation

Melt the abundant knob of butter in a pan, at medium heat.
Fry the shallot (or an onion), finely chopped, in the pan until it has acquired a golden color.
Add the two cups of rice and stir constantly with a wooden spoon, so as to toast the rice.

Toasting the rice may take from 3 to 5 minutes. It’s important to never stop stirring and pay close attention to the rice so that it does not stick or burn.
It’s important to pay close attention to this step: a good toasting, in fact, means that the rice will not be overcooked and it will preserve the compactness of its grains. Toasting the rice is necessary to close the rice pores in order to increase its holding to cooking: if you omit this step you could make the rice looks like a boiled rice with a condiment.

Then, pour in the pan a glass of red wine, preferably of Carmignano: once it dried, pour two or three ladles of broth.

Stir often and add broth to rice whenever it dry: cook it for 20-25 minutes until, tasting it, it will be soft and compact (see figure below).

Turn off the heat and pour into the pan another knob of butter, the grated Parmesan cheese and goat cheese cutted into small pieces. Stir it and then place slices of goat cheese on top of the risotto to decorate it.

  

In closing, cover the Risotto with a lid and let stand it for 5 minutes.

And the wine?

For this recipe, I suggest the “Carmignano Riserva” 2010, produced by Artimino.
The Carmignano is an Italian wine of ancient origin, but is not well known internationally, although it is a Tuscan wine with similar characteristics to those of a Chianti.

This 2010 reserve shows a ruby red color with orange highlights and a good consistency.
At the nose, perfumes of ripe red fruit, mainly cherry, black pepper, coffee and a very pleasant balsamic hint!
On the palate, this wine is quite rounded, fresh and tannic, making it very pleasant paired with the Risotto.

If you can not find it, I recommend wines with a good evolution, a good structure and tannins, such as a Chianti Classico, a Vino Nobile di Montepulciano or a Bordeaux from Haut-Médoc region, if you prefer a French one.