FROM PLATE TO PAGE WORKSHOP SOMERSET

ANTICIPATION TO INSPIRATION

I glance nervously, discreetly around the room and to tell you the honest truth it terrifies me. Expectant eyes boring into mine, waiting. Or, worse, blank stares, no expectations at all, or anticipation hidden and buried so deep one must dig down to find it. What are they waiting for? What must I offer them? How to guide and inspire? And is inspiration even achievable? The silence hangs heavy in the air and my doubts rise like a sour taste in my mouth, bubbling up to the surface and spilling over into my confidence.

I scan the faces gathered together in some chilly, impersonal space, huddled shoulder to shoulder around a table never quite big enough for all of the paraphernalia: the cameras, laptops, ipads, chargers, projector and even the old-fashioned accoutrements, the notebooks, pens and pencils; bottles of water or mugs of tea threaten to tumble onto the table and soak into paper. I shift in my seat, boot up my own laptop and reshuffle my notes – always notes so as not to wander off into unknown, unintelligible territory as I am wont to do – and, taking a deep breath, plunge one more time into the mysterious wilds of yet another From Plate to Page.

 photo courtesy of Ilva Beretta

Writing!

Words read aloud divulge the multicultural bent of this workshop, voices, words sung in an Indian rhythm, spoken in a British lilt, bursting forth in a German accent; Swiss, Egyptian, Swedish, we came from far and wide, a truly international gathering; French, German, Spanish, English chattering fill the void around us as we let down our guards, self-doubt and shyness melting into laughter and energy. Cameras click as the food appears, fingers flick and rush across keyboards pounding out descriptions, telling stories, souls spilling onto blank pages. Each assignment is greeted with a mixture of doubt and enthusiasm; attacked head on albeit with a dash of hesitation. And this group was like no other; in place of a dozen well-seasoned food bloggers, we found that this workshop extended far beyond familiar territory: here were a wedding photographer, a garden designer dabbling in interior design, a PR creative consultant, a craft blogger, a cooking instructor as well as at least one who had begun a blog yet still hadn’t quite figured out the focus. Several newbie and more experienced food bloggers made up the balance, and here we were, brought together by a common passion for food and the desire to learn, to better writing and photography skills. And once they got started, this once impersonal conference room was bursting with activity, barely large enough to contain all of the creative energy.

 photo courtesy of Ilva Beretta

 Styling & Photography!

My nervousness and doubts wash away in this sea of excitement, conviction and eagerness. Yet another roomful of participants from all over the world comes together more than ready and willing to jump into the workshop feet first and give it all they’ve got! Let the fun begin!

photo courtesy of Ilva Beretta

Somerset was the ideal setting for Plate to Page; lush green countryside, cows lowing in the distance while roosters waddled contentedly across the courtyard cockadoodledooing to our immense amusement and pleasure. The perfect backdrop for creative inspiration and peaceful, thoughtful concentration, right out of an English novel (okay, minus the hen party – bachelorettes –lodged next door and their appearance in skin-tight, low-cut stewardess uniforms apparently on their way to celebrate at the local pub). The rambling old English Manor House, Meare Court, offered scattered bedrooms and an attic dormitory reminiscent of an old English boarding school. The spacious kitchen offered rustic elegance with room to cook, clean and shoot, an ancient, cream-colored Aga’s imposing presence like the Queen amid her court. Glasses clinking, corks popping, the laughter was infectious as the Bisol Prosecco and Orchard Pig cider was passed around all weekend, from morning to night, enlivening mealtimes and photo sessions, nourishing our imaginations and bonhomie.

The English rain played tag with the sunshine as we visited a fabulous Smokery – more to come – and a typical gastro pub fed our craving for a true British experience. The participants worked from morning to night, lessons, discussions, critique and feedback as well as special assignments pushed and pulled at their brains, every activity, adventure and excursion the basis for yet more exercises and assignments, pleasure and amusement all a part of the work. Piles of tender, nutty, chocolate-coated nougat, fragrant white-as-snow goat cheese or platters of deep, dark, decadent brownies played double duty: luscious snack and object of desire for many a still life and a battery of cameras.

 photos courtesy of Wendy Thomas

What is From Plate to Page? Yes, you know that it is a hands-on, practical workshop for food writing, styling and photography and we have given it our all to make it the most effective and original of its kind. Yes, P2P is three days in which your skills and ideas are pushed and pulled, teased and challenged, in which you learn to look at yourself more objectively, learn to break down your own expectations and think out of the box, to trust your own instincts in order to find your way back to a place of comfort and creativity, a place of confidence and imagination. P2P is four instructors and 12 participants and a house full of inspiration, hard work and even more work!

 photo courtesy of Ilva Beretta

But it is so much more than that. P2P is conviviality: mealtimes around rough-hewn wooden tables, eating elbow to elbow, platters of incredible food passed around from hand to hand; it is laughter: staying up late chatting, glasses of wine in hand, sharing confidences and advice, giggles and ABBA floating up the staircase and out into the starlit sky; it means friendship: bonds made with who, just hours or days earlier, were total strangers, friendships that last long after the workshop ends and we have all gone our separate ways. P2P is waking before dawn to be the first in the shower yet hearing the distant clatter of crockery only to realize that others are already up and about, emptying the dishwasher, making pots of coffee and spreading jam on toast, gathered like one close happy family in the warm kitchen anxious to start the day. P2P is a row of eyes wide with shock and amazement as the very first exercise is explained that Friday afternoon and eyes filled with delight and eager for more once the results of those first exercises are read aloud to clapping and laughter and expressions of appreciation! Plate to Page is the satisfaction of a weekend of hard work and the gratification of a job well done and the great pleasure felt in both inspiring others and being inspired. Plate to Page is a series of Aha! and Eureka! moments, the smug satisfaction of arriving at a place once thought impossible, of achieving things once imagined unattainable.

And as with Plate to Page Weimar and Plate to Page Tuscany, the weekend comes to a close much too quickly. Along with my three fellow instructors, I hold all of the keys, am the one expected to teach and inspire, motivate and offer knowledge and advice, yet I am always surprised – although I should no longer be by now – at how very much I carry home with me. I return to my family much more motivated and excited to get back to my own writing. Our students never cease to inspire me to better my own skills, my brain flooded with new ideas. And I wish that each Plate to Page workshop lasted just a few days longer.
 
The next exciting, inspirational From Plate to Page food writing, styling & photography workshop is already in the works! If you haven't yet had the chance to attend, it is never too early to register! Add your name to the list and be the first informed! Visit the Plate to Page website and read about past workshops, stay up to date on all news and read our guest posts by the best food writers, stylists and photographers in the business!

photo courtesy of Juliane Haller

Thanks to my extremely talented colleagues Jeanne, Ilva and Meeta (especially my own writing partner Jeanne). Thanks to our P2P Somerset participants Nitin, Alexandra, Barbara, Juliane, Ruth, Francoise, Jo, Djanira, Spandana, Rim and Wendy! One helluva team!

 photo courtesy of Meeta K. Wolff

And thanks to our incredible sponsors who not only allowed us to offer each participant a fabulous goodie bag but who also supplied us with food and drink for our workshop weekend, meals and snacks as well as objects for our exercises (which then were duly eaten): Donald Russel (legs of lamb, curries and fish pies), Bisol Prosecco, Orchard Pig cider, Edge of Belgravia (limited edition numbered ceramic knives), Taste of Home (cookbooks and aprons), Gourmelli Gourmet Foods, Sunchowder’s Emporia gourmet jams, Halen Môn smoked sea salt, Sally Williams nougat, Blue Basil Gourmet Brownies, The Garlic Farm (smoked garlic, fresh asparagus, relishes), Laithwaites Domaine of the Bee Wine, Capricorn Somerset Goats Cheese, Raw Love Life raw chocolates, Food Matters (Nielsen-Massey extracts, Riso Gallo rice & risotto), F & W Media (Brette Sember’s Muffin Tin Cookbook), and Kelly Moore camera bags. For more information and links to our fabulous, generous, delicious sponsors, please visit our Plate to Page Sponsor Page. More about our sponsors soon...

Take a bigger bite ...

JULIA CHILD’S COQ AU VIN & CHOCOLATE MOUSSE CHARLOTTE

A SET OF MASTERING THE ART OF FRENCH COOKING

Cooking is like love; 

it should be entered into with abandon or not at all. 

– Julia Child 

We were poles apart. She strode across College Green with all the confidence of someone who has always been the star of the show, the darling of those who raised her while I, hiding my face behind a wall of bangs, rushed across campus with the self-effacing discretion of a middle child used to receiving less than my fair share of attention. She was lovely in an impish way, her short, chic bob the color of golden caramel framing bright welcoming eyes; my own thick unruly mass of dark hair the perfect shield for prying eyes. She was the ideal blend of pixie and woman, every pore of her tiny frame oozing a sensual aura that mesmerized and entranced men while I, a late blooming ugly duckling gave off waves of hard to get.

She never felt the necessity of paying her share of the rent or filling the pantry or of ever being on time; noblesse oblige instilled at an early age. Rather the occasional offering of a restaurant meal or seats at Carnegie Hall on one’s birthday erased all debts due, the obligation and gratitude all on my side. I, on the other hand, scrupulous to a fault, rushed feverishly to appointments and dates, stood for hours on street corners, subway platforms or in cinema lobbies waiting for her, swallowing my pride and all sense of protocol, responsibility due to a best friend. She had her cosy little studio, her elderly parents making the weekly trip across the bridge from the neighboring state to clean the apartment and leave her a carload of groceries so she wouldn’t need to bother. And I, on my own and far from home, lived in shabby apartments scantily furnished and rarely cleaned, only when I had both the time and energy, shouldering all the responsibility of a young adult living on my own, accepting my choice to grow up.

And while I met my Prince Charming at the ripe old age of 27 after years of wandering alone through a desert, she kissed so many frogs, turning each one into something close enough to a prince to carry her through her teens and womanhood, a trail of so many it made my head spin. She attached herself to man after man, often overlapping one with the next, needing, craving both the attention and the social and personal approbation. She had a way about her that made men bend to her will, offering her car rides and trips around the world, dinners, a bed and a shared life. She played trophy wife for a while until it all turned sour and she was left to turn to someone else and start again.

And with each successive boyfriend, each new life, her Chameleonlike qualities kicked in; she had mastered the art of metamorphosis, the knack transforming herself into a new character, shrugging on a new persona that somehow complemented each new man, each coming with a new wardrobe, new personality and, yes, new goals and a new profession. Bohemian, poet, actress, filmmaker: her ideas were grandiose, needing to make a brilliant splash as she was wont to do. And the men in her life gladly showered her with gifts, whatever it took to purchase a new career.

Yet for all that, for all of our differences on every level, we remained best friends, at least for a while (until I married and my husband and my sister beat some sense into me). But back in those days of friendship, when I decided to pull up roots, drop everything and head to Paris to start over, she eagerly joined in the adventure. When I finally showed up in the City of Lights, she was already well installed in a tiny studio apartment leant to her by a fellow American that she had simply met on the street and somehow or other had him handing over his keys as he left for vacation. And when I returned to Paris after my first trip back Stateside to work and earn enough money to keep me for another few months in France, she was well ensconced in a highrise apartment with a stunning view of the city, en couple with a wealthy young Frenchman whom she had, yes, met on the street and wowed just weeks before. And with this new man in her life, her wardrobe updated to accommodate her new social position, the next person she would become, she seized upon the brilliant idea, the passion of becoming a caterer and private chef. This comprised stocking her kitchen with drawerfuls of utensils, a battery of pots and pans, shiny new business cards and shelves groaning under an array of the most popular cookbooks. And when her staid young Frenchman and she decided to move to the States and marry (one in a chain of husbands and marriages), she entrusted her collection of gadgets and cookbooks to me.

And this is how I came to own Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking, paperback edition, Volumes 1 and 2.

For those of you who have followed my stories, you know quite well that I was not raised on a glorious sophisticated cuisine. Humble dishes from the Old Country, cabbage soup, Borscht and liver and onions were our mainstay, alternating with the fabulous convenience foods of the 1960’s and 70’s, the boxed, the canned and the frozen and happy were we in our innocence and ignorance, loving the homey familiarity of this type of comfort food nourishing our carefree childhood. Yes, I watched with rapt attention Julia Child and The Galloping Gourmet on television and was amazed at the food they created out of passion and so many exotic ingredients. But now, thanks to this friend, owning these two small, hefty volumes and married to a passionate cook myself, I would soon try my hand at true French cooking and a new world would open up before me.

The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. 

In cooking you've got to have a what-the-hell attitude. 

– Julia Child 

This year would have been Julia Child’s 100th birthday, and in honor of this remarkable woman who truly brought classic French cooking into the American home, a select group of food bloggers has been asked to join together with restaurants, chefs and bookstores for a national campaign celebrating Julia and her legacy. A panel of culinary luminaries, including Chef Thomas Keller and food writer Amanda Hesser, has selected their most beloved 100 Julia Child recipes which we, in the weeks running up to her birthday, will be cooking, baking and blogging. Today, I have recreated two recipes (this week’s and last’s): Julia’s incredible Coq au Vin and a Mousse au Chocolat, with which I have created, using homemade ladyfingers and served with a Berry Cointreau Coulis, a Charlotte au Chocolat. 

And as Julia Child herself would have said: Bon Appétit!

Join this tribute to the Grande Dame of French cooking by following @JC100 and the hashtag #JC100 on Twitter and liking the Julia Child Facebook page.

For Julia, a simple lunch of sole meunière -- her first meal in Paris -- was life changing and inspired her 40-year love affair with food and the start of a cooking revolution in America. How has she changed your life or your way of cooking, and what is your favorite recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking? 

DISCLOSURE: My dear friend Alessio of Recipe Taster was visiting yesterday and I wrangled him into cooking and preparing these two dishes with me. And he survived. Thank you, Alessio, for your courage, your cooking advice and brilliant kitchen talents! We did make slight alterations to the recipes to account for taste.
 
COQ AU VIN
From Mastering the Art of French Cooking, by Julia Child, Simone Beck, Louisette Bertholle

4 oz (120 g) smoky lardons or slab bacon, about 1/2-inch (1 cm) thick, cut into ½-inch (1 cm) slices
2 ½ to 3 lbs (about 1.5 kg) chicken pieces, or enough for 4 people
2 Tbs olive or good cooking oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ - 1/3 cup (65 to 85 ml) brandy, optional but recommended
2 carrots, cleaned, trimmed and sliced into ½-inch- (1 cm) thick coins
2 cloves garlic, puréed or finely minced
1 bay leaf
¼ tsp thyme, fresh or fresh dried
1/3 cup (65 ml) canned Italian plum or cherry tomatoes
2 ½ - 3 cups young fruity red wine*
1 – 2 cups (250 – 500 ml) chicken stock
Chopped fresh flatleaf parsley

10 oz – 1 lb (300 – 500 g) fresh white mushrooms or Champignons
Butter or olive oil for sautéing, more or less as desired
2 Tbs butter
1 Tbs chopped chives or the greens from the pearl onions

16 – 20 small pearl onions – about 1 cup or so – no more than 1-inch (2 cm) width, or more as desired
Butter or olive oil
½ cup red wine
Small amount chicken stock or water and a pinch of cube to braise
1 – 2 bay leaves
Pinch fresh dried thyme

* Julia recommends a Zinfandel, Mâcon or Chianti-type wine; we used a Gamay which was recommended by my wine seller and was excellent!

Clean and trim the chicken pieces, removing excess skin and fat pockets; rinse and pat dry.

In a large heavy pot or Dutch oven, heat a tablespoon of olive oil and then add the lardons; fry, tossing often, until crispy. Remove the lardons with a slotted spoon to a plate, leaving the fat/bacon grease in the pot. Add an additional tablespoon of olive oil to the fat in the pot if necessary and add the chicken pieces in one layer; do not crowd. Brown the chicken on all sides. If need be, brown the chicken in batches. Once all of the chicken is well browned, return all of the pieces to the pot and add the brandy; allow the brandy to boil until almost evaporated, only about a minute or two.

Return the cooked lardons to the pot with the chicken; add the carrots, garlic, bay leaf, thyme, the tomatoes, the wine (we added closer to 2 ½ cups wine; if we had added all 3 cups wine the chicken would have been immersed in the wine and would have left no room for chicken stock) and season lightly with salt and pepper. Add enough of the chicken stock to just barely cover the ingredients.

Bring just to the boil, reduce heat to a simmer, cover partially and allow to simmer until the chicken is cooked through and very tender, about 45 minutes to an hour.

Meanwhile, prepare the braised onions and sautéed mushrooms:

Clean and trim the white pearl onions. Sauté in 1 tablespoon of browned butter, 1 tablespoon olive oil and a pinch of sugar until golden. Add ½ cup red wine (the same wine used for the Coq au Vin) and cook for several minutes until the wine evaporates and leaves a glaze in the bottom of the pan. Add enough chicken stock to braise the onions – not more than half a cup, just enough to come up about ¼ inch, with the bay and thyme; allow onions to simmer until tender. Season to taste, if needed. Remove from heat and set aside.

Clean, trim and quarter the mushrooms and sauté in a tablespoon or 2 of butter. Until tender and browned. Season with salt and pepper and toss in the chopped chives. Remove from heat and set aside.

If the sauce is too watery once the chicken is tender and cooked, simply lift the chicken and vegetables out of the pot and continue to simmer until the sauce reduces to desired consistency. Skim off the fat from the surface of the sauce, taste and correct seasoning. Return the chicken and vegetables to the sauce in the pot, add the braised onions and sautéed mushrooms and reheat gently, simmering for a few minutes so the flavors meld.

This is a fabulous dish to make ahead of time and reheat; the chicken becomes even more tender and the flavors become unified and richer. Serve simply over rice or with a vegetable. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley and enjoy with a glass or two of red wine.

CHARLOTTE AU CHOCOLAT 

Alessio and I prepared Julia’s recipe for Mousseline au Chocolat (translated roughly as Chocolate Mousse). We softened about ½ teaspoon powdered gelatine in the cold coffee for 5 - 10 minutes before adding the coffee to the chopped or broken chocolate and melting the two over a bain marie, allowing the gelatine to dissolve in the melted liquid chocolate/coffee. We added extra Cointreau along with the coffee to the chocolate. As we desired to make a Charlotte, the gelatine guaranteed a firmer texture that would hold its shaped when unmolded. The cubed butter to be whisked into the melted chocolate should not be too warm; if, once whisked in, the chocolate/butter mixture seems too watery or liquid, simply place the bowl in a larger bowl over cold water and whisk until it thickens and becomes creamier.

Once the Mousseline is prepared, allow to cool to a thick consistency before filling the lined Charlotte mold.

I prepared my own recipe for Ladyfingers: please find the recipe here. I piped out fingers the height of my Charlotte mold as well as piping out a small circle for the top and a larger circle for the bottom. The sugary, crispy sides of the fingers and the two rounds will be on the outside, the inverse, softer sides of each will be brushed with syrup.

We prepared a simple syrup with water and sugar – about ½ cup water to 1/3 cup granulated sugar – to which added a piece of lemon zest and a squeeze of lemon juice, about ½ tablespoon or to taste, and 1 tablespoon Cointreau. We used this syrup to brush the inside surface of the ladyfingers.

Once the Charlotte mold is lined with ladyfingers all around and the smaller round is place in the bottom (which, once flipped, will be the top) and the fingers and top are brushed with syrup, simply pour in the Mousseline au Chocolat, place the larger round on top of the chocolate cream, cover the whole with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to set overnight.

Prepare the Berry Coulis with 2 pints fresh strawberries and 1pint fresh raspberries, reserving a few prettier ones of each for decoration. Clean the raspberries and clean, trim and slice the strawberries and put them all together in a bowl. Add a few tablespoons or more of the Cointreau sugar syrup to the bowl and toss. Allow to macerate. Before serving, purée ½ to 2/3 of the berries with some of the rendered juices and add back to the remaining berries in the bowl. Taste and add either more of the sugar syrup, Cointreau, lemon juice or granulated sugar to taste, depending on how sweet, boozy or tart you like your Coulis.

When ready to serve: Remove the Charlotte from the refrigerator, trim the excess ladyfingers that stick above the top round of cake and invert carefully onto a serving platter. Dust the top with a bit of powdered sugar and cocoa powder, decorate with the reserved whole berries and serve with the Berry Coulis.

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VEAL ROLLS IN A TOMATO WINE SAUCE

HAZAN FAMILY FAVORITES 

Mangiare per vivere e non vivere per mangiare 

Eat to live and not live to eat. 

- Italian proverb 

My sons were weaned on Italian food. Their formative years were nourished with pasta in red sauce, focaccia with olives, ossobuco and Torta della Nonna. While their far-away cousins dined on fast food burgers and bbq or roast chicken and potato gratin, ours were enjoying slices of home-baked pizza or polpette, tortellini and risotto. School lunches often began with bowls of spaghetti con pesto or minestrone; after-school snacks were a homey Ciambella or Grissini with a chunk of Parmesan cheese. Italian cuisine is in their blood and Italian dishes are our family’s comfort food, infused with love and familiarity, all the warmth, goodness and easy pleasure of home. Food for the soul.

All these years later, now well ensconced in this very French life, we are still passionate lovers of everything Italian. We frequent the Italian stand offering fresh pastas and lasagnas, salumi and formaggi at our local market daily, drawn to the stall like teenaged girls to their favorite rock star, hovering, oohing and ahhing and wanting it all. A quick meal always includes a platter of bresaola and mortadella, smoky scamorza affumicata and a hunk of fragrant taleggio. When we take the time to cook for our family, more often than not there is something Italian simmering on the stovetop or baking in the oven. And my best-loved, most-thumbed cookbooks are Italian.

 My little Italians in Milan

Hazan Family Favorites is my third cookbook from renowned Italian chef Giuliano Hazan, a cookbook whose arrival I awaited with all the anticipation and excitement of an old friend. Every Night Italian and How to Cook Italian both sit contentedly on my bookshelf, always within easy reach, each offering this passionate Italian food lover a treasure trove of classic and traditional recipes as well as new discoveries. Those many years of living in Italy and having raised our two boys on Italian culture and food, delving into one of Giuliano’s books, making – and sharing - his Ossobuco in Agrodolce, Sweet and Sour Ossobuco, the cool and luscious Torta di Ricotta or the stunning Chicken with Green Olives is like a trip home again, back to the embrace of a country and a cuisine we love so well, our first as a family together. And his newest cookbook promised to be just as sensational!

Yet, Hazan Family Favorites is much more than just another cookbook of easy-to-follow, comforting recipes that titillate the palate, infusing our own home with the warmth of Italy. Before even selecting the first recipe to recreate in my own kitchen – although by that point I had half a dozen or more bookmarked with jagged bits and pieces of notepaper – evening after evening found me curled up in bed, book nestled against my knees, reading. Hazan Family Favorites is just that: a collection of 85 recipes, family favorites, from Giuliano’s childhood, dishes passed down from two sets of grandparents and from the loving hands of the chef’s mother, the renowned Marcella Hazan, the fascinating doyenne of Italian cuisine; but it is so much more than just a cookbook. Giuliano recounts with passion, love and verve his family history, an utterly fascinating tale of cross cultures and cooking from the heart for those one loves. This is definitely a book worth reading in and of itself, the story of one chef’s passion for cooking, a passion grown from enduring Hazan family traditions.

The recipes are inspired by the jumble of cultures that make up the Hazan family; Italy to its very core yet kissed with flavors of the Middle East, heavily influenced by the Sephardic Jewish traditions of one set of grandparents, the Italian roots blended with the Egyptian experience of the other, infused with his and his wife Lael’s American upbringings. Giuliano shares both his personal story – and how this shaped his cooking – as well as the memory-rich recipes of his youth which now find a special place on his own family’s table.

A great cookbook is like a good friend: it is ever-present, reliable and trustworthy, offering unequivocal pleasures, comfort when comfort is needed, joy in the everyday. Giuliano’s cookbooks allow me to feed my boys like a true Italian mamma, to bring us all back to those perfect, vibrant Italian days, the simple days of good food and the abundance and cheer of childhood. The simplicity of each recipe and Giuliano’s way of walking us through each step reassures even the least experienced home cook, allowing him or her to turn out something truly fabulous, while those of us who are often faced with much more complicated recipes and too little time, well, Giuliano offers us the pleasure of cooking and baking with ease and simplicity so we can bring great food to our tables, our families every day.

I selected Uccellini Scappati – Escaped Little Birds – a recipe that was handed down to Giuliano from his mother Marcella, a dish she cooked for and served to Craig Claibourne, famed New York Times critic. Italian simplicity at its finest, Uccellini Scappati uses a few, fine ingredients to create a flavorful, outstanding dish, at once homey and elegant, much like most Italian dishes. Simple veal rolls layered with slightly smoky prosciutto cotto and freshly grated Parmesan and bathed then simmered in a luscious red sauce, served simply with white rice and a green vegetable, this effortless recipe turned out a stunning meal.

I also baked Giuliano’s Ciambella; this reminded me completely of Ciambelle we ate in Italy, truly a family favorite for breakfast every day, ideal dunked in coffee or milk. A delicately flavored tea cake-style treat, simple yet so addictive (I broke off a chunk and popped it into my mouth literally every time I walked through the kitchen), dusted with powdered sugar, simple enough to make the perfect breakfast or snack topped with jam or a slice of cheese. Definitely a recipe, and a simple one at that, that I will make often.

 With Giuliano

Read more reviews of Hazan Family Favorites:
Chicken with Tomato, Olives and Capers from Jeanne on Cook Sister!
Nonna Mary’s Ciambella from Lora on Cake Duchess
Review of Hazan’s Family Favorites by Charlie on Eggs on the Roof
Swiss Chard and Almond Gnudi from Alessio on Recipe Taster
Strawberry Gelato from Gwen on Bunky Cooks

Find more fabulous recipes from Giuliano Hazan as well as fun stories and fascinating facts about Italy, her cuisine, ingredients and food traditions written by Lael Hazan – with the occasional guest post by Marcella Hazan - on their blog Educated Palate.

Disclosure: My wonderful friend Lael Hazan asked Giuliano’s publisher to send me a copy of Hazan Family Favorites for review, but all opinions of his cookbooks and recipes are my own. I can say in all honesty that his cookbooks are often used and well loved, each dish receiving two thumbs up all around, my Little Italians included.

UCCELLINI SCAPPATI

(VEAL ROLLS WITH PROSCIUTTO & PARMESAN IN A TOMATO WINE SAUCE)
from Hazan Family Favorites by Giuliano Hazan
Copyright (c) Giuliano Hazan 2012, All Rights Reserved

Time from start to finish: 40 minutes
Serves 4

4 or 5 veal scaloppini, thinly sliced, for a total of 1 pound (500 g) veal
4 large, thin slices of prosciutto cotto, Italian ham, for a total of 4 oz (115 g) ham
¼ cup or so freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbs (30 g) unsalted butter
1 Tbs vegetable oil
¼ cup (approximately 65 ml) dry white wine*
1 cup or so (I used one can) whole peeled tomatoes with their juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

*When cooking with wine, use the wine you will be serving and drinking with the meal.

Lightly pound the veal scaloppini just to flatten evenly (I do this by placing one scaloppini at a time between two slices of parchment or waxed paper and pounding with a wooden crab mallet). Rinse and pat dry; top each slice of veal with a slice of prosciutto and 1 teaspoon of the grated Parmesan, dusted evenly over the surface of the ham. Roll up each tightly and secure with toothpicks.

Heat the butter with the vegetable oil in a large 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. When the butter and oil are hot and just beginning to color, place the veal rolls in the skillet in a single layer and brown them on all sides. Once browned, transfer the veal rolls to a clean plate.

Add the wine to the pan and allow to bubble for about 30 seconds to allow the alcohol to evaporate. Add the canned tomatoes and break them up with the back of a spoon as you stir them in. Season with salt, lower the heat to medium-low and cook, covered, for 15 minutes. Season the veal rolls on the plate with salt and pepper.

After the tomatoes have cooked for 15 minutes, put the veal rolls back in the pan and heat, covered, for 2 to 3 minutes until cooked through.

Serve hot with white rice, a simple risotto and a green vegetable.
Take a bigger bite ...

CHERRY ALMOND FOCACCIA

BREAKING BREAD: HOW SWEET IT IS!

I’m a sucker for little piglets.

A brilliantly sunny day, a chilly wind whipping my hair and tearing at our coats, we decided to put our work aside for a short couple of hours and enjoy a brisk walk over to the Hangar à Bananes along the Loire and then back again across the Ile de Nantes.

Busy as a bee, I have little time these past weeks to focus attention on my blog, yet this, my little baby, is always on my mind. My suitcase now, once again, lies open on my bedroom floor, mouth gaping hungrily for treats to be dropped in for yet another voyage overseas. Or over Channel, as the case may be. Plate to Page Somerset is kicking off this week after much work and anticipation. Our program, updated and adapted to another country, another anticipated group of participants, is ready to go. Old sponsors, wonderful partners, are joined by many new, some filling up our already overstuffed goodie bags with amazing products (I defy anyone anywhere to say that we don’t have the best goodie bags of any conference!) as well as some fantastic and generous British sponsors supplying tremendous edibles and drinkables for the weekend itself. Outings planned and booked, a pub lunch So Very British organized, we’ve got our wellies and our brollies at the ready and this will most definitely be A Grand Day Out! 

A long stroll along the Loire and through town led us directly to the tiny, tiny fair showcasing farm animals and local vegetable and fruit producers. What a fête des mères – Mother’s Day – one tiny lamb snuggled up next to mother while a tremendous sow basked in the glow of infrared lamps while her piglets bundled together, overlapping, snout to tail, next to her, within easy reach of a snack. I tried not to trample any small children as I excitedly pushed my way closer and began snapping photos.

So as I prepare for my week away, sharing the good times with Jeanne, Ilva and Meeta, instructing, encouraging, inspiring, I leave you with some photos of my Day at the Farm and an incredible Cherry Almond Focaccia. I saw a photo of one similar in the April 2012 issue of Bon Appétit and had to make one myself. I then saw my friends Lora of Cake Duchess, Shulie of Food Wanderings and Marneley of Cooking with Books baking Focaccia together, using a Nick Malgieri recipe from How to Bake for their newly formed Breaking Bread Society and the word was spoken, the sign given! A sweet focaccia has long been on my to-do list, and sour cherries are a favourite for baking. (For all the rules on how to Break Bread with Lora, Shulie and Marnely, just link here). I also want to share this Focaccia with Susan of Wild Yeast for her weekly Yeastspotting!

Follow Plate to Page on Twitter all throughout the weekend at #plate2page for all the fun, info and excitement of Plate to Page Somerset! And if you like what you hear, it is never too soon to register for the next workshop: the first & unique hands-on practical workshop for food writing, styling & photography. Next Spring in Ireland! Put your name on the waiting list now!

A tremendous thanks to our exciting and generous sponsors, it doesn’t get better than this: Bisol Prosecco, Sunchowder’s Emporia, Taste of Home, Gourmelli, Nielsen-Massey, Riso Gallo and welcome to our newest sponsors Kelly Moore, Donald Russel (Gourmet Butcher to the Queen), Edge of Belgravia, Sally Williams, Orchard Pig, F & W Media and Halen Môn, Isle of Wight Garlic Farm and Domaine of the Bee (and there are more...)

CHERRY ALMOND FOCACCIA
Dough recipe adapted with minor changes from Nick Malgieri’s How to Bake
Cherry-Almond topping adapted from April 2012 Bon Appétit

1 recipe Focaccia Dough:
1 1/3 cups warm tap water (about 110 degrees)
2 1/2 teaspoons (1 envelope) granulated dry yeast
1 Tbs granulated brown sugar
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons sea salt

Cherry-Almond Topping (quantities of cherries, almonds, brown sugar to taste):
3 Tbs olive oil, divided
2 cups drained pitted tart or sour cherries in light syrup
1 cup of the syrup reserved from the jar
3 Tbs granulated white sugar
½ to ¾ cup slivered almonds
¼ to 1/3 cup granulated brown sugar

Prepare the Focaccia Dough:

Have ready one large mixing bowl greased with olive oil and one 10 ½ x 15 ½ -inch or one 12 x 16-inch jelly roll pan or lipped baking sheet an or a 14-inch round pan. (A wider pan will yield a thinner focaccia while a smaller pan will yield a thicker, fluffier focaccia; bake accordingly!)

Place the 1 tablespoon brown sugar with the yeast in a large mixing bowl. Add the warm water, stir to lightly blend and set aside for 15 minutes. Stir the salt into the flour and set aside.

When the yeast has activated and is frothy and thick on top, stir in the 3 tablespoons olive oil. Using a wooden spoon, stir in about a third of the flour-salt until blended, then stir in the rest in two additions; the third and final addition of flour may be blended/kneaded in using your hands.

Scrape the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead briefly until you have a homogenous, smooth and elastic dough. Place in the clean but greased mixing bowl, turning to coat the entire surface with olive oil. Cover the bowl with plastic film and then a clean tea or dish towel and allow the dough to rest until doubled in size, about 1 to 1 ½ hours. (as my yeast was not active dry, I left my dough to rise for a little longer than 1 ½ hours.)

Prepare the Topping:

Place the 3 tablespoons white sugar in a small saucepan with the 1 cup reserved juice/syrup from the cherries. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium and, stirring occasionally but watching carefully, allow to gently boil (a low boil) until reduced to about 1/3 cup syrup, about 10 – 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, use 1 tablespoon of the olive oil to grease the baking sheet, bottom and sides (lip). Scrape the risen dough out of the bowl onto the baking sheet or jelly roll pan; press the dough evenly into the pan; loosely cover the dough with the plastic wrap and the towel and allow to rise until about doubled, about 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Uncover the dough and pat down, pressing back into the corners and up the sides of the pan if it shrank a bit. Press cherries into the soft dough, as closely or as spaced as you prefer for a more or less fruity focaccia. Cover again and allow to rest for an additional 15 minutes. Uncover at the end of this time, Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil all of the surface of the dough and then drizzle the cherry syrup over the focaccia as well; allow the oil and syrup to collect in the dimples, around the cherries and even down the sides. Sprinkle the slivered almonds evenly but roughly over the top and then dust generously with the granulated brown sugar.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the focaccia is a deep golden brown, risen and sounds hollow when tapped, dense but springy when gently pressed.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for at least 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Take a bigger bite ...