Granita for ice-cold comfort

Italy in the summer time is hot, hot, hot. Almost as hot as July and August in Minneapolis has been this year. With our AC on the fritz, I am learning to cope. But barely. However, a couple years ago when my best girlfriend, Angie, and I visited Italy, we learned that Italians cope with the heat in a most delicious way.

In Rome, at Caffe Tazza d’Oro,** it’s printed on the glass door as you enter: “Granita Caffe con panna.” After the second visit, we had the routine down: go to the register, pay and get your receipt for the granita, take the receipt over to the guy behind the counter, present receipt, wait, receive your coffee granita, go outside, indulge (and cool off) while people-watching in front of the Pantheon (it’s right around the corner from the cafe). Repeat as necessary.

Granita, an exquisite powdery ice, is usually flavored with espresso or fresh fruit and often topped (or layered as at Caffe Tazza d’Oro) “con panna,” (with whipped cream).

But you don’t have to go to Italy to enjoy this icy sweet treat—it’s easy enough to make at home (and just a bit more economical—although perhaps not quite as exciting). Plus it makes a great and cooling and light (depending on how much whipped cream you’re into) finale to a spicy bbq, late night porch supper, or as a poolside refreshment (even if your pool happens to be the inflatable kind).

**Via degli Orfani, 84 (Pantheon) - 00186 Roma
Tel. +39.06.67.89.792 +39.06.67.92.768

Coffee Granita

1 cup water
½ cup granulated sugar
3 cups brewed espresso coffee (or 3 cups regular coffee that has been brewed double strength)

In a 1 ½ to 2 quart saucepan, bring water and sugar to a boil over moderate heat, stirring only until the sugar dissolves. Continue boiling for four minutes without stirring. Remove pan from heat and let syrup cool to room temperature.

Stir in the coffee and pour mixture into a 12 x 9 inch pan.

Freeze the granita, stirring and scraping the icy crystals in to the center of the mixture with a fork approximately every 30 minutes or so until completely frozen, about three to four hours. The finished granita will have a fine and snowy texture.

Serve with a dollop of Kahlua-flavored whipped cream.

Kahlua Flavored Whipped Cream

½ cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons Kahlua

Whip cream until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in liqueur (try Bailey’s as well)


Strawberry Granita

1 cup water
½ cup sugar
2 lbs. fresh strawberries, pureed (you can use less, but I find this amount gives a rich strawberry essence)
1 tablespoon lemon juice

In a 1 ½ to 2 quart saucepan, bring water and sugar to a boil over moderate heat, stirring only until the sugar dissolves. Continue boiling for four minutes without stirring. Remove pan from heat and let syrup cool to room temperature.

Clean and de-hull the strawberries. Put half of them in the blender and pour in half of the cooled syrup plus the lemon juice. Blend. Do the same with other half.

Pour mixture into 13 x 9 inch pan.

Freeze the granita, stirring and scraping the ice crystals into the center of the mixture with a fork approximately every 30 minutes until completely frozen, about three or four hours. The finished granita will have a fine and snowy texture that is a bit more slushy than the coffee granita.

To serve: In a chilled stemmed glass (try a martini glass), layer some of the granita, then whipped cream, granita, ending with whipped cream. Top with a fresh whole strawberry. You can use plain whipped cream, sweetened with 1 tsp. granulated sugar or try the following liqueur-flavored option.

Kirsch-Flavored Whipped Cream
The following yields enough for approximately four servings, depending on the size of stemmed glasses used.

½ cup whipping cream
2 teaspoons kirsch
1 teaspoon granulated sugar

Whip cream until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in liqueur and sugar, whip until stiff.

(this story with recipes was originally published two years ago in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel by yours truly)

Loving Missy's Pies: Lexington, Kentucky

When the original Ramsey's Diner opened in 1989 on

High Street in Lexington, Kentucky, its tiny kitchen

was soon overwhelmed with business--all that comfort food: meatloaf, hot browns, and homemade pie had found a following. As a result, the story goes, when the small space next door became available, owner Rob Ramsey purchased it to set it up as a pie shop for his lead prep cook, Missy. Before Missy ever set foot in the shop, however, she decided to follow her heart to Connecticut (to marry). But the name stuck, and even though there was never a "Missy" in the pie shop, nor was she ever heard from again-- the prize winning pies commenced being produced--and are still being turned out today in 2011. You can get a slice at Ramsey's Diner, or stop in Missy's and take a whole pie home with you--or tuck it in a basket and take it for a picnic in the beautiful bluegrass hills nearby. My favorite--the MayDay pie is a take on the chocolate pecan number known as Derby Pie (a trademarked name). I'm searching for a recipe as we 'cyber speak'--and hope to find one. Otherwise I've got to make another trip to Lexington soon. For more information about the Lexington area, check out my story today in the Minneapolis Star Tribune travel section: "A gallop through bluegrass." And for a perfect mint julep recipe--look for a blog post here soon. Or even better, just head over to Jonathan's at Gratz Park for quite possibly the most perfect mint julep I've ever tasted. Best of all, it's served in the traditional silver cup. It's icy, refreshingly delicious--and beautiful to boot. (Oh, and that'd be a riding boot in this horse country.)

Champagne Pops

Happy New Year! With promises to keep, I am ready to commence some bubbly commentary on my past autumn trip to the home of champagne. First up, a story I had in the Minneapolis Star Tribune: Pop the Cork gives some champagne 101 info along with two new favorite recipes I made a few times during the holidays that were big hits, plus a place to order cool champagne taste testing kits (sorry, you have to provide the actual champagne).

Halloween Treat: Candy corn and peanuts

Autumn brings many exciting sweets to the table. It is, of course, the season of candy corn. And as any good Minnesota mom knows, it is also the time to make up a mixture of candy corn and peanuts. When a handful of this sweet and salty mixture goes into the mouth and is chewed together, it tastes  like the Salted Nut Roll candy bar. (The recipe is basically: mix one jar of dry roasted salted peanuts with one bag of candy corn. If you like more peanuts or more candy corn, adjust accordingly.) I thought everyone knew about this sweet October delicacy. But when I discovered that there are some folks (mostly of the East Coast persuasion) who said they had not heard of the treat, much less the Salted Nut Roll, it gave me pause. Could it really be? So to those who already know, you can skip this part. And to those who do need explanation: the Salted Nut Roll is a sweet nougat center covered in caramel, then in peanuts, and made by Pearson's, a small candy company in St. Paul. They also make the famous Nut Goodie candy bar (I guess they're into nuts). And yes, this is the candy bar that Garrison Keillor has promoted and made famous. Years ago, I had the fun opportunity to tour Pearson's candy factory when I was on an assignment. (The factory is not open to the public.) This is one of the tiny candy companies we need to support--and I am happy to promote their sweet goods.

Sweet Shop: Golden Crown Panaderia

Pratt Morales and son Chris, Albuquerque, NM

I just had a story in the Minneapolis Star Tribune about New Mexico. If you'd like to read it, click on the below. (Sorry, I haven't figured out how to include a link here yet.)

http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/travel/89769762.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUUsZ

In that piece, I included a couple paragraphs about the Golden Crown Panaderia in Albuquerque. Pratt Morales and son Chris run this Southwest bakery famous for its green chile bread (featured on the Food Network) and its anise-flavored biscochitos. I loved the bread but it was those flaky cookies that really got to my sweet tooth.

When you walk in here, the typical bakery scents of bread baking, cinnamon and sugar greet you --along with a friendly person behind the counter offering a free cookie--a biscochito. This is New Mexico's "official State Cookie". As I wrote in my article, you've got to love a state that elevates a cookie to such status. Personally, I'd love to have been at the meeting where it was discussed. "I move that we adopt the biscochito as our state cookie". "I second it." "All in flavor, I mean favor, say aye". And don't ya wonder--how it all started to begin with? Like, was some state worker sitting on break having a cup of coffee and a biscochito when it hit him or her (probably her)--dang, this cookie is GOOD. After another bite... this cookie is REALLY good. Then another worker comes in to the break room and she says to whoever just came in, "hey Joe, this cookie is flipping delicious. It's so good, it could be.... official!" and Joe (but probably it's a Mary) says, "give me some of that cookie and I'll tell you if it's any good," and then she tastes it and says, "Damn, I think you are right!Give me another one to make sure." Then after six or so more cookies, the two think... You know, we should make this REALLY official. Wouldn't it be cool to have an official... state cookie?" I suppose if I were really curious, I could easily find out how the whole thing came to be. But I kind of like my imagined scenario. At any rate, I loved the cookie so much I made them for the annual Christmas cookie exchange last year. (Recipe follows at end of post.)

But enough already about the cookie. The truth is, while visiting this bakery, I found Pratt and Chris(the father-son team who run this operation) to be as sweet as the cookies they bake. They invited me into their kitchen and let me watch them at work, shared memories and dreams, philosophy and baking tips, and of course, tastes. And it's easy to see that everything coming out of the ovens here gets a dose of TLC. These guys love what they're doing. I like the way Pratt explained it: "Passion is when you're supposed to be somewhere at 4, and you get there at 2."

Whether you get here at 2, 4, or 7 a.m., you're in for a real treat --and a free biscochito--when you stop in here. Don't miss it.

Chris on the patio of the Golden Crown Panaderia with pan of biscochitos. (You can also get a great cappuccino at the bakery--see below)

Biscochitos (recipe from the Santa Fe School of Cooking)

Makes 4-5 dozen

2 cups lard or vegetable shortening (I used Crisco)
1 ½ cups sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. toasted anise seeds

6 cups flour

3 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

½ cup brandy

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream the lard or shortening (I used Crisco). Add sugar, eggs and anise seeds and cream again. Mix dry ingredients separately and combine with the shortening mixture. Add the brandy and mix thoroughly.

Roll the dough out on a floured surface and cut into desired shapes. Sprinkle the cookie shapes with sugar-cinnamon mixture. (1 cup sugar to 1 tsp. or more cinnamon) . Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

Sweet Treat: Mother's Famous Father's Favorite Graham Cracker Pie

Last week I had a craving for my mom's graham cracker pie. The filling is basically very similar to a French creme anglaise. The story in our family about this pie was that when my mom used to cook for the hired farmhands on their North Dakota farm, one of the hired men loved this particular pie so much he told my mom he'd pay her some exorbitant sum to make a whole pie just for him. My dad (this was his favorite pie) would have gladly taken the money, but my mother made the pie and didn't charge the man anything. She said after she made it and gave it to the hired hand, he carried the pie on horseback to wherever he was rooming. She said she had no idea how the pie must have looked upon arrival. It's a fragile type custard filling and truthfully, it'd be good simply spooned out of the pie pan. I am sure the guy didn't care. (This is a comforting pie for a rainy dreary day. My dad and I liked eating it warm from the oven, but if you want it less runny, you should let it cool awhile until it sets. I liked making it and thinking about my mom.)

Graham Cracker Crust:
about 1 1/2 cups crushed graham crackers
1/4 cup melted butter
2 tbsp. sugar

Mix together and press in pie pan (I used a 9 inch pie pan). Bake 10-15 minutes at 350 degrees.

Filling:
Mix 2/3 cup sugar and 1/2 cup cornstarch in a bowl. Stir in 1/2 cup milk.

Put 2 1/2 cups milk in a kettle and bring to a boil. Whisk in the sugar and cornstarch mixture, stirring constantly, as it sticks easily.

Separate 3 eggs. Whisk egg yokes together and add a little hot mixture to them, then pour all back into the kettle. Then add 2 tablespoons butter and 1 tsp. vanilla. Cook, until thick, stirring constantly (I use a whisk). Pour on graham cracker crust.

Meringue: Whip 3 egg whites with 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar until foamy, then add 1/4 cup sugar and whip whites until stiff peaks form. Spread on pie up to edges and bake 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees or until meringue is brown.