The Beginning of the End

Today is cause for CELEBRATION as it is my FINAL Dolce Vita cooking post! As you all know, today is also NEW YEARS! To top it off, I am also celebrating my BIRTHDAY!!! 

I decided to make myself a little 'cake' to celebrate. I bought some gelatin to make Panna Cotta.

Mmmm the Panna Cotta tasted like cheese cake! This is basically made of solidified cream and milk. Happy Birthday to me :)

In honor of my last blog post here -and New Years- I also made 2 alcoholic drinks from the 'Cin Cin 'portion of the cook book. I made Asti Spumante con Cilantro for me (because I love Champagne and cilantro!) I also made a drink for my Husband that is one of his favourites; Pesche con Vino (drunken peaches in Chianti).

The spumante was so refreshing and my Husband loved the fruity/floral taste of the peaches!

I started cooking my way through Dolce Vita early this year, and alas; at the end of the year I have completed the book, and made about 69 recipes! I have learned a lot and have gained such a love for Italian cooking. I truly appreciate those of you who have regularly stopped by to see what I was cooking, and I am grateful to those of you who left comments -because it encouraged me to keep going- even after I burnt a dish!

When I started my journey, I never thought in a million years that I would be meeting the creator behind the book; David Rocco!! I was so honored that he enjoyed my blog and I was in disbelief when he actually called my house! Also, if you told me a year ago- that I would be asked by Harper Collins to write a review about the cook book, I would have never believed you :) It has been a great journey in cooking! I only hope that 2012 would be just as exciting. Happy New Year and all the best to you in  2012!!!

Cin Cin!

*Sandy xox

Buon Natale!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! On Christmas Eve I hosted a David Rocco Style dinner for 17 people. I made David Rocco's Pasta al Forno (as shown above). It had an interesting twist with the olives, sun-dried tomatoes and egg plant. Everyone enjoyed the smoky taste of the scamorza in the pasta.

 Here is the crowd, happily eating their Pasta al Forno. I also made Zuppa di Zucca,  fried sole with Risotto Spinaci and Insalata di Faggioli e Tonno, among other things.

 My Mom brought her delicious home-made cream/chocolate pudding puffs. We were so full!

Also, it's tradition around the holidays that my in-laws make these fried donuts. Some have sugar on them and some are stuffed with sardines. They are so good but I had to control myself- or I would start looking like Santa's Sister. 

I'll be back with one last dessert that I will attempt to make for New Years- then I will be officially closing the chapter on my cooking journey. See you then!

Mmmmm....Doughnuts!

If there's one sweet dessert I am obsessed with- it's doughnuts! Therefore, I was excited to make Ciambelle- which are Semi-Hard Doghnuts. To start, I had to make a well with my ingredients.

Then it all turned out magically into a dough.

My kids helped me with it too!

The Ciambele turned out great! I usually buy these at the Italian bakery so I was thrilled to learn how to make them myself. They were sweet but you could taste the aniseeds and a bit of olive oil too. The wine cut into the sweetness from the sugar. We snacked on them all week at school and work. I'll have to make these for Christmas. My parents will be so impressed!

Desserts for the Holidays

Sorry that I haven't been around for a while, but Christmas is fast approaching and there is lots to do! Remember when I talked about Coco Sbatuto or Zabaglione in this post? Well I was delighted when I saw that there is a Zabaglione dessert recipe in the Dolce Vita cook book. First, I stopped off to the LCBO -after work- and picked up some Marsala to make Zabaglione con Panna Montata (whipped cream Zabaglione).

Then I got right to work on my desssert- using only farm fresh eggs. It was so easy to make, and it only took 5 minutes, (plus 1/2 hr. to chill).

This was sooo delicious! It was sweet, and the tartness of the blueberries cut into the bitterness of the Marsala. I have to make this for my Dad this Christmas- since I'm hosting the party at my place this year. I'll be back with some more desserts. They are perfect for the holidays! Ciao!

Chatting with David and my Published Review of Dolce Vita

Me: "Hello?"

David: "Hellooooo!"

Me: "David?"

David: "Yes! Hi Sweetheart!"....

That's how the conversation started when THE David Rocco called me at home last week! David has a great sense of humor and it felt like I was talking to an old friend. My little interview with him- helped me with my Dolce Vita review.

I'm excited to say that the review is on the front page of Harper Collin's Savvy Reader site this morning. Click here to read the review!!!!

It FIG-ures!

Around the holidays you will find lots of dried figs- which is exciting because I am seriously addicted to them! I didn't feel like having a meal for dinner tonight, so I decided to make a medley of 'Parmigiano con Noci e Miele', (cheese with nuts, dried figs and honey).

The honey made the nuts and figs so sweet and the saltiness from the cheese- cut through all the sweetness. It was a devine recipe from the Dolce Vita cook book!

Last weekend I was supposed to interview David -for my Dolce Vita book review- at Costco. We were to meet after his book signing- but the line up was sooo long, (it figures!) As a result, David will be calling me at home tomorrow afternoon for the interview! I will be back with that soon :)

The Marriage of Sweet & Sour

Oh how I wish it was still strawberry season.

 For now, I have to buy strawberries from the grocery store. I bought some strawberries to make this next recipe; Fragole all' Aceto Balsamico. It's a simple combination of balsamic vinegar and strawberries. Let it rest for 5 minutes and enjoy. The sweetness of the strawberries cut through the sour taste of the vinegar. David even suggested to try balsamic vinegar over vanilla ice cream. I did just that and was amazed by the taste. It tasted a bit like coffee ice cream and it wasn't sour at all.