Overnight Yeast Pancakes

I love recipes like this- you do most of the work the night before, and then get to sleep in on a weekend morning and wake up to a super-easy breakfast.  (We haven't had a nice weekend breakfast forever, and it was finally time last Saturday morning).  I have favorite recipes for yeast waffles, but none for pancakes so far, so I did a quick online search and landed on this recipe, using both yeast and buttermilk, which is just perfect for me.

Overnight Yeast Pancakes
adapted from the Washington Times

1 teaspoon (about ½ package) active dry yeast
2 tablespoons lukewarm water
2 cups flour (used half white and half whole wheat pastry)
1½ teaspoons baking powder
1½ teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups well-shaken buttermilk
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons tablespoon honey
Butter, as needed

1.  Using a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in the water. Add the the buttermilk, eggs, oil and honey. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, and whisk to combine (the batter will not be completely smooth). Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

2.  To cook pancakes, heat a griddle or nonstick skilled over medium heat. Lightly butter the griddle and let melt. Stir the batter and pour 1/4-1/3 cup into the skillet for each pancake, and cook until bubbles appear on the surface, about 2 minutes.

3.  Flip and cook until the bottom is lightly golden and pancakes are springy to the touch. Serve immediately or keep warm in the oven.  Makes 10 to 12 large (6-inch) pancakes.

Note: Pancake batter will keep for 3 days, refrigerated.

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Zucca (Pumpkin) Cooking Class

A few weeks ago, I went to another class with Cooking with Lucas and a group of friends.  It was a pumpkin cooking class, so we made everything with Zucca!!  (Using squash interchangeably with pumpkin, as is normal here in Italy).  We made Focaccia Bread topped with Onions and Pumpkin (SO good- I think my fave!!!), Zuccamisu (Tiramisu using pumpkin... I took the pics for Lucas to put on his website, check out the link to see more pics :) ), Pork Chops with Pumpkin Sauce, Pumpkin Ravioli, and an easy Pumpkin Gelato (using the same ingredients from the Pumpkin Tiramisu).  I'll just photo bomb you with pics now.

Some ingredients for the Zuccamisu.

Grating fresh nutmeg into the Zuccamisu topping.

Adding some white wine to the pumpkin sauce (the topping for pork chops).

Roasted zucca, ready to become filling for the ravioli.

Cheese!!  Ravioli filling.

About to make some fresh pasta.

Part of Lucas's "backyard".

The hallway in Lucas's historical apartment in downtown Vicenza.

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Salted Caramel Squares

First, Happy Back to the Future Day!  Lol.  Ok, these delicious-looking bars were in the last Penzey's Spices catalog.  The recipe is online too.  This recipe comes from an Irishman, so I guess that makes it Irish!  My layers didn't come out as clean-looking as theirs, but these were still so delicious.  I actually made these for our Canadian Thanksgiving Celebration on October 12. We had some extra kids over and most of them seemed to enjoy these, too.  My kids loved these even through they contain coconut (I didn't tell them until they were all gone.... evil laugh).

You could use a can of Dulce de Leche if you have that on hand, instead of cooking the sweetened condensed milk.  I'd melt the butter and add everything into the DDL if you do that.  I still have some cans of Portuguese DDL I brought over from the Azores, but decided to not use it for this (it's harder to find DDL in Italy... I've only seen it in international stores.

Salted Caramel Squares

adapted from Penzey's

Base:
1 Cup self-rising flour
1/2 Cup brown sugar
1 Cup shredded coconut
1/2 Cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
pinch salt

Caramel:
1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
2 TB. Lyle’s golden syrup (use half honey, half corn syrup for a sub)
1 TB. butter
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Chocolate:
16 oz. dark chocolate
1 tsp. butter
1/2- 1 tsp. coarse sea salt

1.  Preheat oven to 360°. In a large bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, coconut, butter, cinnamon (if using) and salt. Mix well on low. Press onto an ungreased rectangular baking sheet (about 10x14; a 9x13 pan would also work), about 1/4-inch thick. Bake at 360° for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool a bit, leaving the oven on.

2.  For the caramel, combine the milk, golden syrup and butter in a small heavy saucepan. Heat over medium, stirring constantly, until big bubbles form and the mix is thickened and a light caramel color, about 8-10 minutes. Stir in the vanilla.  Pour and gently spread over the base. Return to the oven for 10 minutes. Let cool.

3.  For the chocolate, melt the chocolate and butter using a double boiler or in a glass bowl placed over a pot of boiling water. Stir until melted. Pour and spread the chocolate over the cooled caramel. Sprinkle with the sea salt. Refrigerate until the chocolate has set, about 2 hours. Cut and serve.  Tastes best at room temperature.

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Herb-Roasted Pumpkin (or Squash)

I buy packages of pre-cut (and peeled) pumpkin or squash here at the local stores.  (In Italy, "Zucca" means pumpkin but is interchangeable for any kind of yellow/orange squash.  I believe the above is actually butternut squash).  I used part of the raw squash to make the Pumpkin Spice White Hot Chocolate  and needed to use the rest.  One day for dinner, I made one of our fam's favorite pasta dishes,  and roasted this as a side as the pasta was cooking.  The two dishes went so well together!  I used fresh rosemary and sage, because they are prolific in my yard.

Herb-Roasted Pumpkin (or Squash)

by What A Dish!

raw squash or cooking pumpkin, peeled, seeded and cubed (look for pre-cut squash at the store... totally worth it!)

fresh rosemary

fresh sage leaves

olive oil

salt and pepper

1.  Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.  Drizzle some olive oil on a baking or cookie sheet.  Place the squash and herbs on the baking sheet and drizzle with a little more oil.  Sprinkle with salt and a little pepper.  Roast for 20-40 minutes, or until tender and some pieces are a bit browned (toss a few times during roasting).  Eat as-is, as a side dish, or add to a pasta dish.

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Basic Chili

This recipe is from Penzey's Spices.  I order spices from them quite often, and got some Penzey's chili powder recently.  I had some ground beef on hand and felt like making an easy chili, so I found this recipe.  I also adapted it for my slow cooker by adding less liquid.  I also used less beef and more beans according to what I had on hand.  (Still brown the ground beef and onion on the stove top). This made quite a lot, so we had it with some tortilla chips one day, and the next, we had good old-fashioned Frito pies using this chili!  It was all delicious.  I love Frito Pies, especially with homemade chili.

Basic Chili (Slow Cooker)
adapted from Penzey's

1 pound lean ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced or 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground chipotle powder
1/2-1 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper- optional; I omit for kids
3 TB. chili powder
1 cup water
1 26 oz. can tomato puree (I used Italian "passata" for this; worked perfect)
2 16 oz. cans no salt added chopped tomatoes
3 16 oz. cans beans, drained (I used pinto, cannellini, and black)
salt, to taste

1.  Brown beef in a thick-bottomed skillet.  Add onions and  sauté for 4-5 minutes, stirring often. Add red bell pepper and garlic, continuing to cook 2-3 more minutes. Add black pepper, ground cumin, chipotle and hot red pepper to taste plus chili powder, while continually stirring until spices begin to stick to bottom of skillet and brown (about 30-45 seconds). Quickly add 1 cup of water, stirring and scraping the bottom.  Scrape mixture into slow cooker.

2.  To the slow cooker, add tomato puree, chopped tomatoes and the juice they were packed in. Add beans and salt. Add the beef but try not to include any fat that may have accumulated. Stir. Cook on LOW for 8-10 hours or on HIGH for 3-5 hours.

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Fair in Grisignano

Back in September, we went to a huge fair they have in this area.  It's kind of like a state or county fair in the States (although I'm not all that familiar with those, but that's what I hear).  There's kilometers of booths set up in the streets of the town of Grisignano.  Hot food booths, and selling everything from olives to brooms, computers and outdoor fireplaces, hot tubs, etc.  We mostly went for the food, though.  Our neighbors told us we must try this special risotto made with red wine.  We did, and it was so delicious.  We also got a panino porchetta, or pork sandwich made with special Tuscan-style roast pork.  That was only ok though, so no pic.  :)  The pic above is the guy stirring the risotto.  (We did ask to take his pic, but he was in charge of a serious job, I guess.)  

The risotto was super popular, obviously.  We sat next to a family with a child who was so anxious to dig in, he burnt his tongue on the very hot risotto.  

Some of the other food for sale were Cannoli and other Sicilian pastries, dried fruits (everywhere!) but most exciting was this olive guy.  He had so many different kinds, and lot I had never seen before.  Some HUGE green olives.  (Top pic).  We got some mixed olives but they've been pushed to the back of the fridge.  I need to eat them!  

I bought a tangine there, so I need to make Tangine from Morocco.  Other than that we just walked around and enjoyed the experience.  They had a lot of rides too, but we didn't partake.  

PS:  Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!!  We celebrated with roast chicken and mashed potatoes (with gravy!)  No pics because my plate was too "beige".  Lol.  

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Pumpkin White Hot Chocolate

At a cooking class last winter, the class made Pumpkin Cappuccino, but since I don't drink coffee, Lucas gave me some of the mixture before he added the espresso, and it was just sweetened, warm milk with pumpkin spice and pumpkin/squash puree.  I had the idea back then to make a white hot chocolate based on that, and I finally did last weekend.  Obviously, my whipped cream wasn't working and the cinnamon garnish got WAY out of hand (I had to scrape it off and toss it after the photo shoot.... I had only made one cup of this, lol).  But I hope you can still get the idea.  Imagine a perfect swirl of whipped cream and a tiny sprinkling of cinnamon.  If I ever get better pics I'll update.

Pumpkin Spice White Hot Chocolate
adapted from Cooking with Lucas
makes one serving

1 cup milk
3/4- 1 ounce white chocolate
pumpkin spice
cinnamon
1 tablespoon pumpkin or butternut squash*
whipped cream

*1. For the squash, I buy pre-cut, skinned, raw pumpkin or squash at the Italian stores.  They probably have something similar in the States.  I then simmer a few chunks in a bit of water until tender and then drain.  One could probably use canned pumpkin puree or even squash baby food for this recipe, but I haven't tried it.  I did have to strain the cooked pumpkin/milk mixture because I couldn't get the pumpkin dissolved fine enough to not be chunky.

2.  Heat the milk and white chocolate gently over low heat, whisking frequently.  Add a sprinkle of the spices.  When the chocolate is melted, removed from heat and add the pumpkin.  Using an immersion blender, blend everything together (carefully) until very smooth.  You may wish to strain it over a small strainer into a mug for a smoother drink.  Top with whipped cream and an extra sprinkle of cinnamon, if desired.

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Festa Della Zucca (Pumpkin Festival)

We went to the pumpkin festival a few weeks ago.  They really love pumpkins and pumpkin foods here in the fall, and it was a great opportunity to try some of the local foods featuring pumpkin.  I had pumpkin gnocchi, of course, and it was amazingly delicious.  My husband had a pumpkin filled pasta, and it was good, but a little too sweet.  My pumpkin gnocchi was flavored with sage butter, and my husband's had two sauces; one sage butter and one tomato and sausage.

There were helpful instructions posted for newcomers to Sagras, or festivals, in Italy.  This is how you get your food (English and Italian!).

The "order form", above.  So many choices!  It's always hard to choose.  They always have fries for those who don't like the good stuff.

Sweet, fried pumpkin flowers.  They were battered and covered in sugar.  I've never had sweet ones before!

This pumpkin cheesecake was so good- SO light and fluffy. Not heavy at all.  I loved it.

This man was sculpting different kinds of squash.  It was pretty cool to watch him work.  See his handiwork, on the left.

Advertising what kind of food was available.  Like I said, so many choices!  I always want them all.  :)

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