Recipes From Our Traveling Christmas Kitchen
Hop on the Cooking Vacations sled as we travel from the North to the South around the boot for a Christmas dinner that will dazzle your table!
Antipasto a Venezia ~ Appetizer in Venice
Raddicchio Rosso di Treviso al Forno ~ Roasted Radicchio Treviso-style
Number of servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ lb Radicchio Rosso
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Salt and Pepper
Instructions
- Wash and cut radicchio in half or quarters.
- Pat dry and layer in an ovenproof dish.
- Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Set oven to broil and cook radicchio in upper half of the oven.
- Turn radicchio frequently or until it is tender yet slightly crispy on all sides.
- Serve hot.
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Primo in Toscana~ First Course in Tuscany
Pasta in Brodo ~ Pasta in Broth
Number of servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 large Onion, cut in quarters
- 1 medium Carrot, cut in 3 in. pieces
- 1 stick of Celery, cut in 3 in. pieces
- Salt
- 2 lbs. quality Beef cuts such as chuck, shoulder, rump and round, cut in medium sized pieces
- Fresh small Pasta, such as tortellini or cappelletti
Instructions
- In a large pot, add the vegetables and salt and fill to more than half with water.
- Cover and cook over medium heat, bringing the water to a boil.
- Once the water begins to boil, lower heat and add the beef cuts.
- Cook partially covered for about an hour.
- Remove meat pieces from the broth (this can be served alongside the broth, sliced thinly).
- Pour the broth through a strainer removing all the vegetables.
- In a separate pan, bring the broth or brodo back to a boil.
- Add your fresh pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until pasta floats to the surface of the broth.
- Ladle equal portions of pasta into bowls.
- Ladle the hot broth on top of the pasta, top with grated Parmesan.
Cooking time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Secondo nel Lazio ~ Second Course in Lazio
Agnello al Forno ~ Baked Lamb
Number of servings: 4
Ingredients
- 3 lb. Lamb, cut in pieces
- Salt
- Herbs, chopped (parsley, sage, thyme, marjoram, rosemary)
- 2-3 Garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup White Wine
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° F.
- Place the pieces of lamb in a baking pan, add salt, chopped herbs, garlic, white wine, and a generous drizzle of olive oil.
- Allow to marinade for 1 hour.
- Bake covered with aluminum foil for about 1hr and 15-30 minutes depending on oven.
- Towards the end of the cooking time remove the foil and finish cooking until brown.
- Allow the lamb to rest before cutting.
- Serve warm!
Cooking time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Dolce in Campania~ Dessert in Campania
Struffoli ~ Christmas Fried Dough In Honey
Number of servings: 8
Ingredients
- 6 Eggs
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar
- 4 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 2 tbsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 lb Butter, room temperature
- 4 Vanilla Beans
- Vegetable Oil, enough to fill large pot halfway
- 12 oz. Honey
- 1 Candy Sprinkles, small jar
Instructions
- Whisk the eggs and pour them through a strainer to ensure they are mixed properly.
- Add sugar to eggs and mix immediately to prevent the sugar from burning the eggs.
- In a separate bowl add the flour and baking powder.
- Flake butter into the flour mixture.
- Split vanilla beans and scrape out the seeds and add them to the sugar/egg mixture.
- Pour into a mixer bowl and using a dough hook blend while slowly adding the flour.
- Let dough rest in a cool dry place.
- Roll out the dough into long 1/2-inch coils and cut 1/2-inch nuggets from the coils.
- Place them onto a baking pan.
- Put vegetable oil into a large pot and bring to 350° F or 180° C.
- Fry small quantities of the nuggets in the oil and when golden brown, place onto a baking pan lined with paper towels to absorb excess oil.
- When all dough is fried, let it cool to room temperature.
- In a saucepan, heat the honey (not to a boil) and add small quantities of the fried dough to the pan.
- Stir lightly with a large slotted spoon.
- Remove from saucepan and place onto a serving plate and decorate with candy sprinkles.
Vin Brulé ~ Mulled Wine
Number of servings: 4
Ingredients
- One bottle of full-bodied Red Wine
- 1 4” Cinnamon stick
- 8 Cloves, whole
- Peel of 1 untreated Orange
- Peel of half an untreated Lemon
- 6 oz Brown Sugar
- Pinch freshly ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a pan and bring slowly to the boil, stirring constantly so the sugar dissolves.
- Simmer for a couple of minutes, then take off the heat.
- Brave souls can now attempt to set the surface of the wine alight to burn off the alcohol, but the wine it also perfectly good without this last step.
- Strain off spices and peel and serve hot in tall glasses.