Happy New Year

Traditional Italian New years dinner

Traditional Italian New years dinner

The annual rite of consuming good luck food for New Year's Day is observed all over the world. Exactly what you consume depends largely on where your ancestors came from and what was available there during the winter. In Italy, lentils are eaten as a symbol of good luck and prosperity because they resemble tiny coins. Tuscan's eat lentils with "Cotechino", a large pork sausage. People in Bologna and Modena eat lentils with "Zampone", the same sausage mixture stuffed into the skin of a pig's foo t In the Piedmont, little grains of rice symbolize money, so New Year's Day menus feature risotto and for added luck, a plate of beef or chicken would be served with spinach and lentils.

Cotechino Sausage

Great for holidays or when you need to add something special to an antipasto or cheese

platter. Cotechino holds a special place in the hearts of most Italians due to the belief

that if eaten together with lentils as the clock strikes midnight on New Year's Eve

you will be the recipient of good luck for the year to come.

lentil and Escarole Soup serves ( 4 to 6 )

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

2 small carrots, chopped

1/4 cup olive oil

2 garlic cloves, chopped

2 cups diced tomatoes

2-1/4 cups lentils

8 cups chicken or beef stock

1 head escarole, chopped

Salt and pepper

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

In a large saucepan over medium heat, cook the onion, celery, and carrots in

olive oil about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 more minute.  Add the

tomatoes, bring to a simmer, and cook 10 minutes to reduce the liquid.  Add

the lentils and stock and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and cook,

uncovered, about 30 minutes . Add the escarole, salt and pepper to taste, and

look until lentils are tender, 35-45 minutes. Ladle into individual bowls and

sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Sausage and Lentils Delight ( serves 4 to 6 )

Ingredients

350 ml lentils

500 gr cotechino sausage (Italian sausage)

25 ml olive oil

100 gr pancetta ( or bacon)

1 large onion diced

1 carrots diced

1 celery stalk diced

150 ml tomato sauce

1 bay leaf

salt and pepper

Method

1.Place the lentils in a saucepan ,add 2 liter vegetable stock or water and bring to a boil.

2.Pierce the skin of the sausage all over with knife ,place the sausage in the pan with the lentils

3. Reduce the heat to simmer ,cover and cook for 45 minutes or until lentils are tender,remove sausage set a side to cool .Drain the lentils set a side .

4.When the sausages is cool enough to handle ,slit open and remove the skin,cut the sausage into 3 cm slices.

5.Cook the sausage slices into a skillet until golden brown on both sides about 2 minutes,remove and set aside.

6.Add the olive oil to the skillet and heat ,saute the pancetta,onions carrots and celery

in the olive oil until soft about 5 minutes or so.

7.Add tomato sauce,lentils,and bay leaf. Cook over low heat for about 5 minutes,season to taste with salt and pepper,Remove baf leaf ,pour the lentils onto a serving platter and arrange the sausages around them and serve with fresh grated Romano cheese

Veal with Lentils and Pasta (serves 6)

Ingredients:

30 gr dried porcini mushrooms, soaked in warm water about 15 minutes

1 kg veal for stew, cut cubes

Salt and pepper

Flour for dusting

75 ml olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

250 gr fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 cup dry white wine

15 ml fresh rosemary, chopped

250 ml chopped tomatoes

750 ml chicken or beef stock

250 ml lentils

200 gr small pasta, such as ditalini, tubetti, shells, or elbows

Method

1.Drain soaked mushrooms, reserve liquid and add it to the stock. Salt and

pepper the veal and dust with the flour.

2.Heat the oil in a large skillet and cook veal over high heat until veal is brown.

3.Add the onion and mushrooms and continue cooking, when onion begins to

brown, add wine and rosemary, cover and simmer for 5 minutes.

4.Transfer all ingredients to a large saucepan and add the tomatoes and stock. Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat and simmer about 1-1/4 hours.
5. Add lentils and continue cooking about 1 hour. Stir often to prevent lentils from sticking to the pot Cook pasta. Put pasta into individual soup bowls. Ladle stew over

top. Serve.

Honey-Sesame Cookies ( 48 cookies)

In roman times, guests were given honey-sesame cookies so the new year

would be filled with sweetness.

Ingredients:

625 ml flour

5 ml baking powder

2 ml salt

2 ml baking soda

125 ml butter, room temperature

125 ml honey

2 eggs

About 125 ml milk

125 ml sesame seeds

Method

1.In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.

2.In another bowl, combine butter, honey and eggs with an electric mixer until

well combined. Gradually beat in the flour mixture. Cover and chill the dough

about 1 hour or until firm.

3.Preheat oven to 190 C . Grease 2 baking sheets.

4.Form chilled dough into 2 ½ cm balls. Roll the balls in a small bowl of milk

then roll them in the sesame seeds.

4.Place balls on prepared baking sheets.

5.Flatten each ball slightly Bake 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove cookies from baking sheets and cool on a wire rack..

Christmas Delights

Start thinking about Christmas favourite foods

French Canadian Tourtiere

Butter tarts

Mincemeat pie

French Canadian Tourtiere (22 x 4 or 23 x 4 cm pie plate)

Ingredients

350 gr lean ground pork

350 gr lean ground beef

1 medium onion small diced

2 garlic cloves minced

150 ml. water

8 ml. salt

3 ml. thyme

2 ml. sage

2 ml. ground black pepper

1 ml. ground cloves

Pie crust recipe to follow

Method

1. Preheat oven to 220 C.

2. In a saucepan, combine pork, beef, garlic, water, salt, thyme, sage, black pepper and cloves.

3. Cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil, stirring occasionally.

4. Reduce heat to a low simmer until meat is cooked 5 minutes or so.

5. Spoon the meat into the pie crust. Place top crust on top and pinch the edges to seal. Cut top crust so steam can escape.

6. For better result cover top of pie with aluminum foil for about 10 minutes then remove foil and finish cooking for about 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown... When cooked let stand for about 10 minutes before serving. Serve with rich brown sauce Gravy

Pastry for Tourtiere

Ingredience

600 ml. all-purpose flour

2 ml. salt

150 ml. butter cubed

150 ml. lard cubed

80 to 100 ml cold water

1 lemon juice

Method

1. In a food processor, combine the flour and salt .Add the butter and lard and pulse for a few seconds at a time until mixture is the size of peas.

2.Add the 90 % of the water ,lemon juice and pulse again until the dough is right to form add more water if need be or until ready to form .Remove the dough from the food processor and rest for about 10 to 15 minutes

3. Form 2 discs one for top and one for bottom of pie

Butter tart filling 24 depends on the size of tarts

225 ml butter

1 kg brown sugar

12 eggs

25 ml Vanilla

15 ml vinegar

Pinch salt

Mix at low speed for about 10 to 15 mim

nutes rest for about 15 minutes and our into unbaked tarts shells

Butter Crust 24 tarts Shells

Ingredients

800 mL all-purpose flour

2 ml salt

120 ml cold butter, cubed

120 ml lard or butter, cubed

1 egg yolk

5 mL vinegar

Ice water

1. Mix same as you would pie crust

2. Flour, butter and lard when it looks like nuggets blend in the cold water
3. Rest for at least 20 minutes before using

Homemade Mincemeat: (serves 8 to people )

55 gr butter

240 ml apple juice

2 large apples, peeled, cored, and grated

90 gr dark raisins

90 gr golden raisins

70 gr dried currants

75 gr dried cranberries or cherries

100 gr dried figs (or prunes or dates), chopped

120 gr candied mixed peel

100 gr) candied red cherries, chopped

Zest and juice of one orange or lemon

140 gr packed dark brown sugar

80 ml light rum

80 mlb randy or cognac

3 ml ground cinnamon

2 ml freshly ground nutmeg

pinch ground ginger

pinch ground cloves

pinch salt

Short Crust Pastry

350 gr a & p flour

5 ml salt

30 gr granulated white sugar

226 gr butter, chilled, and cut into 3 cm pieces

60 - 120 ml ice water

Homemade Mincemeat:Place all the ingredients in a large Dutch oven, and bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring often. Then, reduce the heat to low and simmer the mincemeat, stirring often, for about 30 minutes, or until the liquid is almost evaporated. Remove from heat and, stir in ½ of rum ½ brandy. Let the mincemeat cool completely, then transfer to a covered container, and place in the refrigerator, at least overnight, before using. It can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a month. If storing longer than a week, stir in a little rum or brandy every week to keep it from drying out and to preserve the mincemeat. Otherwise it may not keep a month.

Pastry In a food processor, place the flour, salt, and sugar and process until combined.Add the butter and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal (about 15 seconds).Pour 60 ml water in a slow, steady stream, until the dough just holds together when pinched.If necessary, add more water. Do not process more than 30 seconds.

Turn the dough onto your work surface and gather into a ball. Divide the pastry in half, flatten each half into a disk, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes to one hour before using.This will chill the butter and relax the gluten in the flour.

Mincemeat Tart: Preheat the oven 190 C and place oven rack in the center of the oven. Butter, or spray with a non-stick vegetable spray, one 20-23 cm tart pan.Place the tart pan on a larger baking sheet.

Remove one round of pastry and on a lightly floured surface, roll the pastry into a 3 mm thick circle.To make sure the pastry is large enough, take your tart pan, flip it over, and place it on the rolled out pastry. The pastry should be a bit larger than the pan.

When the pastry is rolled to the desired size, lightly roll the pastry around your rolling pin, dusting off any excess flour as you roll.Unroll onto top of tart pan. Never pull the pastry or you will get shrinkage Gently lay in pan and with a small floured piece of pastry, lightly press pastry onto the bottom and up the sides of pan. Trim the edges of the pastry so you have about 6 mm overhang. Fill the tart shell with about 720 ml of the homemade mincemeat and dot with butter.

Then remove the second round of pastry and roll it into a round circle that is about 3 mm thick. cut the pastry into 2 cm wide strips. Using an offset spatula gently transfer the strips to the tart pan.Lay the strips, evenly spaced, across the tart and then turn the pan a quarter turn and lay the remaining strips across the first strips so you have a lattice pattern. Seal and trim the edges of the strips to fit the tart pan.

Bake for about 45 minutes or until the pastry has lightly browned.Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream.