Egg liquor (Bombardino all'uovo)

The perfect treat for cold days and nights, delicious if warmed a little, great if drunk with Christmas sweets.

Ingredients:

3 cups of non skimmed milk

29 ounces sugar

6 egg yolks

1 cup alchool

1 cup sweet rum

1 vanillin sachet

Boil the milk with half of the sugar gently mixing now and then.

Let it cook a couple of minutes after boiling, then turn off the heat and let it warm.

In a big bowl mix egg yolks with the other half of sugar untill they're creamy and frothy: now add little by little the warm milk, mixing very well to avoid lumps: to be sure you can filter the liquid at this point.

I didn't do it anyway.

Add vanillin, alcohol and rum liquor, mix again then pour in bottles and close them.

Wait about a week before using, shaking the bottles sometimes.

Potado gnocchi (Gnocchi di patate)

Potado gnocchi are a quite famous Italian dish: it's prepared in the whole peninsula but more often in the North of Italy.

They could be dressed in many ways, the most commons are: tomato sauce, genovese pesto, bolognese sauce.

To make gnocchi you need (for about 4-5 persons):

2 lb whole potatoes unpeeled

2 cups flour

1 egg

1 tablespoon salt

Place washed potadoes in a large stock pot filled with water and bring to a boil.

Cook until the potatoes are soft.

Peel immediately while potatoes are still hot (ok, I know it's not funny but the peeling is easier) then mash them on a work surface using a food mill.

When the potatoes are still warm (but cool enough to be handled), shape them in a mound with a hole in the middle and add inside the flour, the egg and salt.

Draw the ingredients together and mix to form a dough.

If the dough is sticky sprinkle a little more flour and work the loaf of dough. add flour and work again untill the dough is no longer sticky.

Cut the dough into four pieces. Sprinkle the work surface with a little flour, and place the first piece on it.

Roll the dough into one or two long sticks approximately 3/4 inch in diameter.

Cut the sticks in little pieces (about 3/4 inch each).

Roll the pieces along the the surface of a cheese grater.

Work this way every piece of dough, work always on a lightly floured surface.

Fill a stockpot with water, bring to a boil, and add salt.

When the water is at a fast boil, drop the gnocchi in.

The gnocchi will fall to the bottom of the pot: after about 2-3 minutes the gnocchi will come up to the surface, this mean they're cooked.

Drain them then saute' for few moments in a pan with the choosen sauce.

Add a spoon of fresh grated parmesan and enjoy your gnocchi!

Bruschetta (Toasted garlic bread)

I think Bruschetta is one of the most famous Italian appetizer worldwide: it's simple, low cost, yummy, customizable.

Count about 2 slices per person, the bread must be sliced in thick pieces (approximately 3/8 inch ).

The oil is the king of the ingredients in this recipe so you absolutely need extra-virgin olive oil, a good one.

You also need salt and a garlic clove.

Preheat an oven, broiler, or toaster; grill the bread on both sides until golden brown.

Lightly rub the garlic on the surface of the bread.

Pour a thin stream of olive oil on the bread, and sprinkle with salt.

Serve hot or at least warm.

This is the basic bruschetta but surely not the only way to serve this kind of bread: on top you can add thin slices of pork lard (like Colonnata lard) and Rosemary, tomatoes chopped in tiny cubes with some basil leaves, sliced green olives, sundried tomatoes in slices, dried red pepper powder or slices and whatever else your fantasy and your taste decide.

Egg custard (Zabaglione or Zabaione)

Zabaione is a sweet egg custard very tasty, flavoured with Marsala wine.

It's often made douring Christmas holidays, when you spend time with friends and family.

You need:

4 egg yolks1/2 cup

sugar1/2 cup

Marsala wine (or Port or Madeira if you can't find Marsala)

Beat egg yolks until fluffy in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water (this kind of cooking is called Bagnomaria).

Add sugar and beat again, then Marsala and beat.

Whisk over simmering water, until the cream thickens but don't let it boil, turn off the fire a little before.

Let the cream cool (room temperature) then serve in glass or glass bowls, decorate with biscuits, fresh fruit or/and whipped cream.

You can also use this cream to fill tarts, cakes or as a sauce for other sweets like Christmas cakes.

Rome sweet Rome

I'm back from the stunning city of Rome.

It's so beautiful, so full of history and heritage that sometimes you feel overwhelmed.

I know Rome is a target for many tourists worldwide so I'll give you the site of the hotel (bed and breakfast) where we stayed.

http://www.hotelsandanielebundi.it/

It's between Coliseum and Fori imperiali, in the heart of the city (you can visit main attractions like Trevi fountain, Piazza di Spagna, Piazza Navona and many others on foot, anyway the metro station is near).

You can book directly from the site, they don't have a breakfast room but they'll give you a prepayed ticket and with this you can have a good breakfast in the bar right under the hotel.

It's also quite cheap, it's not a luxury hotel or a pretentious one but it's clean, quiet at night, with anything you need to recover from your visits around the city.

I hope I gave a good hint for your next trip! ^^

ROME IS WAITING !!!

Tomorrow I'll leave to Rome for a week end with my sister in law and a friend of her.

I'm really excited because it's a beautiful city and because I really need some rest and relax with friends: I have a lot of mates there but I can see them seldom.

We've already organized a dinner^^.

Unluckly I had an awful week and I had no time to be prepared, it's ten pm and I still have to pack luggage :S