A little Heritage

An understanding of my heritage has been a large part of my life. Like a little kid sitting cross-legged for story time, I used to sit at the dinner table, completely attentive, hearing stories about my Grandma Lena’s amazing homemade ravioli and how she spent hours perfecting them. My grandpa will still quietly sing the Italian love songs he used to hear as a child from his father, who never spoke English. My other grandfather, who resembles Robert De Niro from the Godfather, still spends afternoons eating plates of pasta with his friends from the Italian club.

                Though I have never had the opportunity to travel to Italy, I try to embrace my heritage the best I can. Sometimes, my attempts to understand my heritage are carried out by cooking an old-fashioned Italian dish. Missing some good Italian meatballs while I was away at college, I decided to make Italian Wedding Soup (or Minestra Maritata) with a strong, aromatic broth. And of course, who can enjoy a bowl of soup without some gravy-soaking bread? I made (with my sister’s help because I ran out of time) a fresh batch of focaccia bread to accompany the meal.

                I also realize it is important to embrace another side to my heritage… the American side. Living in the melting pot means taking my ethnic background and melding it into my American lifestyle. This has been the American way for many years. I love driving down a street and seeing a Chinese restaurant, next to a pizza joint, followed by a sushi bar. My way of incorporating my American side into my heritage is by making some minor changes to the Wedding soup recipe to make it easier and healthier. One modification was making my meatballs out of chicken rather than beef, pork or veal (using my mother’s amazing recipe!) because America is currently on its health conscious kick to limit the epidemic of obesity. Another modification was substituting brown rice for pasta. It gave the soup a different and unexpected texture.

                Despite the changes to the recipes, the soup came out quite well (and in a somewhat timely manner). My favorite part of the meal, though, was the opportunity to enjoy it with my family, the reason for carrying on my heritage. It was nice to sit and converse with them between bites of bread and spoonfuls  of soup. Whether I am Italian or American or Italian-American, the best part of embracing my heritage is that I can share it and learn about it from the most important people in my life!

(I had some trouble with my phone the other night, so my mother and sister took these photos of their soup to help me out)

My Mother's Photos:

My Sister's Photos:

 

    Italian Wedding Soup with Rice ( from Ina Garten )

My mother’s Meatball Recipe:

·         1 lb. ground chicken

·         1 cup panko bread crumbs

·         ½ cup grated parmesan cheese

·         1 egg

·         2 tbs. olive oil

·         Garlic powder to taste

For the soup:

• 2 tablespoons good olive oil
• 1 cup minced yellow onion
• 1 cup diced carrots (3 carrots), cut into 1/4 inch pieces
• 3/4 cup diced celery (2 stalks), cut into 1/4 inch pieces
• 10 cups homemade chicken stock (I didn’t use homemade)
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 2 cups wild rice (cooked)
• 1/4 cup minced fresh dill
• 12 ounces baby spinach, washed and trimmed

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine all meatball ingredients in a bowl with your hands. Roll into small balls and place on a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Bake for 25-30 minutes until fully cooked and lightly brown.

In the meantime, for the soup, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat in a large heavy-bottomed soup pot. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and saute until softened, 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken stock and wine and bring to a boil.. Add the fresh dill and then the meatballs and rice to the soup and simmer for 1 minute. Taste for salt and pepper. Stir in the fresh spinach and cook for 1 minute, until the spinach is just wilted. Ladle into soup bowls and sprinkle each serving with extra grated Parmesan

Focaccia Bread (From the Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook)

•  1 1/3 Cups warm water (105-115 degrees)
• 2 teaspoons (1 envelope) active dry yeast
• 3 tablespoons Extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 1/2 Cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt

Topping

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 -1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt

1. combine water, yeast and oil in the large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Stir in the flour and salt. When the dough comes together, replace the paddle attachment with the dough hook. Knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 4 minutes.
2. Turn the dough into a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Let rise until dough is puffy and has doubled in bulk (about 1 1/2 hours).
3. Generously spray (with nonstick vegetable oil spray) the bottom and sides of a 15 1/2 by 10 1/2 inch pan that measures at least one inch deep. Flatten the dough and press it into the pan. cover with a damp cloth and let it rise until puffy and almost doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.
4. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Just before baking, use your finger to dimple the dough at 2-inch intervals. Drizzle topping oil over the dough, letting some collect in the indentations. sprinkle the dough with salt.
5. Bake until the bottom of the focaccia is richly colored and crisp and the top is golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Use a large spatula to remove the focaccia from the poan and slide it onto a wire rack to cool.

Bright Colors and Shiny Objects

I have a (male) friend who was proud to announce that he had figured girls out and had constructed his own “Girl Theory.” He told me that girls were easy to understand as long as you realized that they were attracted to bright colors, shiny objects and miniature things. Of course, he meant to say that girls were simple and easily distracted by the aforementioned items, often seen in the forms of jewelry, clothing, and small animals.  I will admit that I am attracted to bright colors and shiny objects, but I am absolutely certain that is not the essence of what makes me a girl. My egotistic and disillusioned friend missed quite a bit in his theory. Here are some of my personal additions to the “Girl Theory” or what makes a girl:

1.       Girls are expressive. Whether they express themselves through speaking their emotions or painting a picture (maybe even with bright colors), they like to put themselves out there and show the world who they really are.

2.       Girls like to talk. Even if they are shy, every girl enjoys good, open conversation. Stemming from our need for expression, there is a need for companionship, someone to express to. We enjoy talking to one another because we have a genuine interest in other people (historically and evolutionarily, women are nurturers) and enjoy learning about how people operate. Sometimes, our need to understand people and converse about this understanding can result in judgment and gossip, but, for the most part, our talking results in a greater comprehension of the people and environment around us.

3.       Girls see the world in “bright and shiny” colors. I’ll admit, we like a little color in our lives. Even someone as wary of change as I am can admit that girls love the excitement of new and interesting things. We see the intensity of the array of colors and diversity in the world. Our brains are constantly filled with new ideas and perspectives.

4.       Girls are lovers, and have a need for resolution. I have found that guys enjoy leaving things the way they are (the old stereotype that men won’t ask for directions may stem from the fact that they just don’t want to stray from their own, settled path). Women, on the other hand, want the perfect ending (just consider how perfectly chick flicks tend to resolve and how broken hearted we are when they don’t). We don’t like harboring our negative feelings and we have a need to get it all out and resolve problems, even if the resolution is akin to a tornado-stricken town. We are naturally lovers and want to please others (just picture the perfect 1950’s mother serving her family. It’s not all a façade), but we realize that not everything can be perfect. Due to this, we try to finish things the best way we can, though it’s not always perfect.

These are just some thoughts and observations I have had, but, basically, the most important thing is that girls are far from simple. In fact, our love of bright and shiny, new things make us curious, open and understanding. Don’t get me wrong. I realize not all women follow this criterion (no set of criteria is comprehensive), but I do feel that these are pretty consistent patterns.

So, to my narrow-minded friend, you’re right. I LOVE bright colors, shiny objects and miniature things, but there is SO much more to me!

Here is one form of expression for me. I love making jewelry (yes, with bright colors and shiny objects). Making jewelry is away for me to show my true colors.

A Chocolate Chip Cookie (dough ball style)

What’s in a chocolate chip cookie? Well, all good chocolate chip cookies start with fresh butter and sugar creamed to a mixture of silken perfection, which is then combined with flour (and other dry ingredients) and heavenly bits of chocolate to make that famous (or infamous) speckled dough. Yes, I can taste the sweetness of both white and brown sugars and the soft, chewy center of butter and flour, but there is always something more to a chocolate chip cookie. There is that hint of comfort that warms your belly after that first bite. There is an ounce of care rolled into each little dough ball that bakes to full blown love with the heat of the oven. Even as a little girl, the process of baking and eating chocolate chip cookies was one associated with excitement, relaxation and a kitchen full of pure joy. Whenever I can’t decide what to bake, I remember the feeling of a good chocolate chip cookie. It is my go-to cookie for a gathering with friends, an evening with my family, or just an afternoon by myself. So, naturally, when I arrived home for spring break (I’m not good at the whole tropical vacation party thing), I decided to comfort myself with a batch of chocolate chip cookies. The sound of the busy mixer cleared my mind of the stresses of papers and exams. Gently folding in the chocolate chips released the tension of taking notes. The smell of baking dough brought me back to a time of youthful serenity that only an afternoon in my home kitchen and a batch of chocolate chip cookies can accomplish.

The recipe I chose was one I found while perusing blogs. I have a "soft" spot for chewy cookies, so when I found the chocolate chip cookie dough balls from The Chic Life , I had to try them. As long as the dough was refrigerated and not baked too long, the cookies came out as thick, doughy balls, cooked on the outside and still gooey on the inside. The cookies maintained their pale color with just a little brown on the bottom. I brought them to my friends to share while we were catching up about college stuff, and they were definitely a hit.

                                             

                                     Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls (from The Chic Life)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 stick butter, softened/room-temp (I used benecol and they came out just fine)
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips ( did a 1/4 chocolate chips and 1/4 toffee bits)
• ( I added 3 tbs. of unsweetend, dried cocount for flavor and texture)

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda.
3. In a medium bowl, mix sugars and butter till creamy. (I used a handheld mixer, but you could probably just use a whisk). Add egg and vanilla and mix till combined.
4. Mix wet into the dry.
5. Gently fold chocolate chips into the dough, without overmixing.
6. Refrigerate dough for at least 20 minutes before using a small sorbet scoop to scoop out dough into small mounds. Roll each mound into a ball and spread evenly on a baking sheet, leaving roughly 2-3 inches between each ball.
7. Bake balls for 10-14 minutes, depending on how set you want your centers. If you use egg, and you’re paranoid like me, you can use a meat thermometer to ensure the centers of the balls are at least 160 degrees F, which many web sites say is the safe temp to eat eggs.
8. Let your dough balls rest on the baking sheet to cool at least 5-10 minutes.

(I accidently had to double the recipe because I put too much benecol in the first batch and they still came out fine (miraculously))