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2009

TODAY's CASES:

Turin Hot Chocolate - Bicerin

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Patrice 
  To: phaedrus@hungrybrowser.com 
  Sent: Saturday, January 03, 2009 5:58 PM
  Subject: Turin Hot chocolate


I'm looking for the recipe for the thick hot chocolate that was served during the 2006 Olympic 
in Turin Italy.   It was served in a small "espresso like" cup with a spoon.  In Turin travel 
sites it is referred to as "Origional Turin Renaissance hot cholocate".  I have never seen a 
recipe so other than chocolate I do not know what else would be in it.  
  thanks
  Patrice

Hi Patrice,

Sorry, I cannot find any mention of "original Turin Renaissance hot chocolate". However, Turin, Italy, is famous for something called "bicerin", which is a combination of espresso, thick Italian hot chocolate, and heavy cream. See: bicerin

For some bicerin recipes, see below.

Phaed

  re>
  Bicerin 

  Time: 10 minutes, plus more time for chilling
  1/3 cup high-quality cocoa powder, dark chocolate shavings or hot chocolate mix (see note)
  Sugar
  2/3 cup chilled heavy cream
  Ground espresso (enough for 2 long shots, about 1/3 cup each).

  1. At least 15 minutes before making bicerin, place stainless steel cocktail shaker or jar 
in the freezer. Fill 2 water goblets or Irish coffee mugs with hot tap water.
  2. In small saucepan combine chocolate with about 2/3 cup water, and set over medium heat. 
Simmer,stirring occasionally, until chocolate coats spoon, about 10 minutes; Add sugar to taste. 
Shut off heat.
  3. Empty glasses and wipe dry. Remove shaker or jar from freezer, add cream and shake vigorously 
1 minute. Make espresso. To each glass or mug add a shot of espresso and 1/3 cup chocolate, and 
carefully spoon 1/3 cup cream over top. Serve immediately.
  Yield: 2 drinks.

  Note: Alway in making Bicerin, use high quality Italian cocoa or chocolate if at all possible. 
  Use real cream, not half-and-half.
  -----------------------------
  Italian Mocha (Bicerin)

  Ingredients
  1 cup milk 
  1/3 cup good quality semisweet chocolate (chopped or chocolate chips) 
  1-2 tablespoon sugar (or to taste) 
  1-2 cup very strong coffee 
  1 tablespoon powdered coffee creamer (optional) 

  Directions
  1 Heat the milk to boiling. 
  2 Reduce heat and whisk in chocolate and sugar. 
  3 Heat mixture to boiling while stirring continuously. 
  4 Remove from heat and whisk in coffee and creamer if using skim milk (it thickens the drink a bit). 
  5 Serve immediately. 
  ------------------------------------------------
  Bicerin

  Ingredients
  1 part freshly made espresso 
  1 part freshly made hot chocolate, such as Real Deal Hot Chocolate 
  1 part heavy cream 

Instructions
Place a cocktail shaker in the freezer until well chilled, at least 10 minutes. Fill a large 
heatproof glass with very hot tap water and set aside. 
To serve, empty glass and dry out. Layer ingredients in the glass by placing shot of espresso 
in the bottom and then, while slightly tilting the glass, slowly pouring in hot chocolate. 
Remove shaker from freezer, add cream, and shake vigorously until frothy, at least 20 times. 
Spoon shaken cream on top of hot chocolate and serve immediately. 

  Comments:
  For an alcoholic bicerin, add 1 part coffee-flavored liqueur to the hot chocolate before layering it.

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Karyl 
  To: phaedrus@hungrybrowser.com 
  Sent: Saturday, January 03, 2009 2:22 AM
  Subject: Sarabeth's Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

  Hi again.  I hope your new year is off to a great start!

  I am trying to locate a recipe for Sarabeth's lemon ricotta pancakes.  Sarabeth's is a Manhattan 
brunch mainstay, and my sister was raving about their pancakes.  Since I live in Washington state, 
I won't be able to have the real thing anytime soon.  Any help you could give would be greatly 
appreciated.

  Thank you!

  Karyl 

Hi Karyl,

Here's what I found. The only one that claims closeness to Sarabeth's pancakes is here:
Lemon Ricotta Pancakes, styled after Sarabeth's

However, the last two below are by well-known chefs.

Phaed

  Lemon Ricotta Pancakes, styled after Sarabeth's:

  3/4 cup all purpose flour
  1 tablespoon baking powder
  1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  1/4 teaspoon salt
  4-5 tablespoons sugar, depending on your preference of sweetness (if you like them un-sweet, only use 2)
  1 cup ricotta cheese (fresh ricotta, if you can find it)
  2 eggs, room temp
  2/3 cup milk
  1 lemon, zested and juiced
  butter and/or Pam for griddle
  Confectioner's sugar
  Fresh raspberries, blueberries or sliced strawberries

  Preheat a nonstick griddle or large skillet.

  Combine flour, baking powder, nutmeg, salt, and sugar in a small bowl. Whisk together the cheese, 
eggs, milk, lemon juice and zest in a large bowl. Whisk the flour mixture into the wet ingredients 
until just combined. Brush the hot griddle with butter or spray with Pam. For each pancake, pour
approximately 1/4 cup measure of the batter on the griddle and cook (3-4 minutes per side) until 
light golden brown. 

  To serve, stack 1-3 pancakes on a warmed plate. Sprinkle with sifted powdered sugar (through a sieve)
then top with fresh berries. Serve immediately.
  ----------------------------------
  Lemon-Ricotta Pancakes

  Ingredients

  2/3 cup All-purpose flour 
  1/3 cup Sugar 
  1/2 tsp Baking powder 
  1/4 tsp Baking soda 
  1/4 tsp Salt 
  3/4 cup Part skim ricotta cheese 
  3 Eggs, separated 
  2 tbsp Lemon juice 
  1/2 tsp Grated lemon zest 
  1/4 cup Milk 

  Directions
  Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl; stir well. 
  Combine ricotta cheese, egg yolks, lemon juice, lemon zest and milk; add to flour mixture, 
stirring until smooth. In a clean bowl beat egg whites to stiff peaks. Stir one-quarter of the 
egg whites into the ricotta mixture. Gently fold the remaining egg whites into the ricotta mixture 
with a rubber spatula. 
  Spoon a scant 1/4 cup batter for each pancake onto a hot nonstick griddle or nonstick skillet. 
Turn pancakes when tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked. 
  -----------------------------------
  Lemon Ricotta Pancakes 

  Ingredients: 

  2 cups ricotta cheese (about 1 pound) 
  4 large eggs, separated 
  Grated zest of 1 lemon 
  Pinch of salt 
  Dash of pure vanilla extract 
  2 tablespoons sugar 
  1 cup all-purpose flour 
  8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, plus more butter as necessary to cook the pancakes 
  Maple syrup, warmed 

  Method: 

  1. Set an ovenproof platter or baking sheet with a cooling rack on top of it into the oven, and turn 
the oven to 200 degrees. 
  2. Beat the ricotta and egg yolks together in a large mixing bowl with the lemon zest, salt, vanilla, 
and sugar. Stir in the flour and 7 tablespoons of the melted butter, working the batter just until it's 
homogeneous and smooth. 
  3. Whip the egg whites with a whisk or hand held mixer until they hold a stiff peak. With a rubber
spatula, gingerly fold half of the whites into the batter, then fold in the remaining half. Don't 
worry if the resulting batter is lightly stripped with whipped whites - they keep the pancakes light 
and airy. 
  4. Heat a large cast-iron or non-stick skillet or griddle over the medium-low heat for a minute or 
two, then grease the pan with a teaspoon or more of the remaining butter. When the butter starts to 
sizzle, turn the heat up a touch and ladle in 31/2-to-4 inch pancakes. 
  5. After a couple of minutes, when the bottoms of the pancakes are somewhere between mottled and
uniformly brown, flip them and cook another 2 minutes on the other side. Transfer the finished pancakes 
to the platter in the oven and repeat with the remaining batter. Put your serving plates in the oven 
to warm before adding the last of the batter to the pan. 
  6. Serve the pancakes on the warmed plates, with warmed maple syrup on the side. 

  * You can of course also serve with warmed lemon curd as well.
  ------------------------------------------------
  Lemon-Ricotta Pancakes

  3/4 cup all-purpose flour 
  1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 
  1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
  1 cup (4-ounces) ricotta cheese 
  1 tablespoon granulated sugar 
  2 large eggs 
  2/3 cup milk 
  Grated peel of 1 lemon 
  Juice of 1 lemon 
  Butter for the griddle 

  In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients with a fork until blended, do not overmix. 
  Heat griddle over medium-high heat. Lightly grease griddle with butter. As soon as the 
butter is melted, pour pancake batter onto griddle. Cook until batter begins to bubble or 
pancakes are golden. Flip and finish the other side. Serve pancakes warm with pure maple syrup 
Makes 10 to 12 pancakes.
  (Marc Meyers)
  ----------------------------------------
  Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Lemon Curd and Fresh Raspberries

  Ingredients
  3/4 cup all-purpose flour 
  1 tablespoon baking powder 
  1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 
  1/4 teaspoon salt 
  2 tablespoons sugar 
  1 cup ricotta cheese 
  2 eggs 
  2/3 cup milk 
  1 lemon, zested and juiced 
  Butter, for griddle 
  1 (11-ounce) jar prepared lemon curd 
  Fresh raspberries, for garnish 
  Confectioners' sugar, for garnish 
  Directions
  Preheat a nonstick griddle. 

  Combine flour, baking powder, nutmeg, salt, and sugar in a small bowl. Whisk together the 
cheese, eggs, milk, lemon juice and zest in a large bowl. Whisk the flour mixture into the 
wet ingredients until just combined. Brush the hot griddle with butter. For each pancake, pour
approximately 1/4 cup measure of the batter on the griddle and cook on both sides until light 
golden brown. Repeat until no batter remains. 

  Empty the contents of the lemon curd into a small saucepan and warm over low heat. Alternatively, 
remove the lid and place in a microwave oven on 50 percent power for 2 minutes, stopping after 
1 minute to stir the curd. Drizzle a few tablespoons of the curd over the pancakes, top with 
fresh raspberries, and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.
(Bobby Flay)

Non-Spicy Apple Cake Recipe

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Stanislava 
  To: phaedrus@hungrybrowser.com 
  Sent: Wednesday, December 31, 2008 11:28 AM
  Subject: Apple cake recipe


I once saw an apple cake recipe on a PBS show.  I thought it was Everyday Food, and I'm not 
convinced that it wasn't.  But I have never found the recipe for the cake on the site. 
I looked several years ago (4?) and again recently.  The only apple cake they show on their 
website is not the one I'm after.  So perhaps it's a different PBS show with a group of 3-5 
cooks who all do different dishes in one episode.

Most apple cakes seem to be spice cakes with little tiny apple bits (or 1/2" chunks) inside, 
or perhaps with sliced apples neatly arranged on top.  I recall the recipe I'm searching for 
as prepared in a bundt pan, and with LOTS of apple slices (say almost 4 cups?) and a batter 
that baked up around them and held it all together.  I'd attempt to recreate this recipe myself, 
but am not sure how to go about it.  To hold that many apples together, how would you do it and 
still avoid the moisture coming out of the apples and making the cake goopy?  So, could you help 
me find an apple cake from a PBS show that has a large apple-to-cake ratio?

Thanks!
Stanislava

Hi Stanislava,

Sorry, I had no success finding this. I'm not a baker, I just search for recipes, so I cannot answer your question about the apples. Sorry.

Phaed

Timm sent these recipes:

Fresh Apple Bundt Cake

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar 
1-1/2 cups vegetable oil 
3 large eggs 
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 cups plain flour, sifted 
1 teaspoon baking soda 
1 teaspoon salt 
4 cups apples, peeled and sliced
Non-stick cooking spray

Instructions:

Blend the sugar, oil, vanilla and eggs well. Combine the flour, soda and salt. Stir the 
apple slices into the flour mixture to coat well. Remove the coated apples and add the 
flour mixture to the wet mixture stirring well; add back the coated sliced apples and 
combine. Pour the apple batter into a bundt pan sprayed well with non-stick cooking spray 
and bake for 1-1/2 hours at 325F degrees. Cool five minutes in the pan; invert and complete 
the cooling on a wire rack. 

Note: Use Jonathan, Granny Smith or any tart apple that holds together when baked
------------------
Sliced Apple Cake

Ingredients:

6 tart apples, sliced 
5 cups all purpose flour, sifted 
1 tablespoon baking powder 
2 cups sugar 
1 cup oil 
4 large eggs 
1/2 cup orange juice 
2-1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 
4 tablespoons, sugar, divided 

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. In a large bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and sugar. 
Add the oil, eggs, juice and vanilla; beat together until smooth. Pour 1/2 of the batter into 
a greased tube pan; add 1/2 the apples arranged neatly and sprinkle 2 tablespoons of sugar. 
Add the rest of the batter, apples and the remaining sugar. Bake the for 1-1/4 hours. 
Remove the cake from the pan after it has cooled for 15 minutes. 

Bulgar Wheat Cookies

----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Tia 
  To: phaedrus@hungrybrowser.com 
  Sent: Saturday, January 03, 2009 12:25 AM
  Subject: Bulgar Wheat Cookies

Dear Uncle Phaedrus,

I grew up with a wonderful dad who did mounds of baking every Christmas for our family, friends 
and neighbors.  Every year he would make what I always knew as bulgar wheat cookies.  I loved them! 
He has since been diagnosed with Alzheimer's and I cannot seem to get the recipe or it's origins 
from him.

Here is what I can remember:
The cookies were a type of sugar cookie or shortbread dough with bulgar wheat used minimally in 
addition to the regular amount of flour, so basically for texture.  I think my dad generally used 
wheat he had cracked himself, though I am quite sure the recipe called for bulgar wheat.  I think 
I remember him using a recipe from a cookie cookbook from the early 80's or late 70's.  I think 
it may have been Betty Crocker.  The cookies were rolled out and cut into rounds, then a dollop 
of jam was placed in the center and covered with another round with a hole cut in the center.

Any help would be appreciated. 

Thank you,
Tia

Hello Tia,

Sorry to hear about your dad. I have a close relative who was also recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

Tia, I wish I could help, but I cannot find a cookie recipe with bulgar wheat. I'll try again if you can get a name for the cookies or any more ingredients.

Phaed


Rinktum Diddy

Another trying times budget recipe. Serving bread or toast with tasty protein-filled sauces was a good way to have a balanced, inexpensive meal in the 1920s and 1930s. "Rinktum Diddy" went by several odd names, the origin of which seems to be unknown. Your kids will love this one just because of the name! Below are some recipes.

Phaed

Rinktum  Diddy

1 sm. onion
1 tbsp. melted butter
1 lg. can tomatoes, strained
Dash paprika
Dash Tabasco sauce
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
Salt to taste
Saltine crackers
2 slightly beaten eggs

 Fry onions in butter until tender, add the tomatoes, heat to boiling, then add the cheese, 
stirring until cheese melts.  Add everything else but eggs and saltines.  Stir some mixture 
into beaten eggs, then add egg mixture to remaining hot mixture, stirring constantly until 
thickened.  Serve with saltines or over toasted bread.
---------------------------
Rinkum  Ditty

2 tbsp. margarine
2 tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. mustard
1/8 tsp. paprika
1 1/2 c. milk
1/4 lb. cheese, cut in pieces
Toasted bread

  On low heat, melt margarine in saucepan.  Remove from heat.  Stir in flour, salt, mustard, 
and paprika until smooth.  Slowly stir in milk.  Stir and cook until thickens.  Add cheese pieces. 
Stir and cook until smooth.  Pour over toast and serve.
----------------------------
Ring-Tum-Diddy

1 lb. bacon, diced
2 lg. green peppers
3 (1 lb. 3 oz.) cans tomatoes
3 med. onions
3 (1 lb. 3 oz.) cans corn
Salt & pepper to taste
1/2 lb. American cheese
12 slices toast

 Dice and fry bacon.  Wash, seed and chop green pepper.  Slice onions thin.  Add pepper and 
onion to bacon.  When pepper and onion are browned, add tomatoes and corn and season to taste. 
Heat thoroughly and add cheese.  Allow cheese to melt.  Serve on toast.  Serves 12. 

From the front page on the CBS Marketwatch website:

"Inflation slows to half-century low in 2008: U.S. consumer price index caps smallest annual gain in 54 years with negative December reading."

and same page:

"Food prices skyrocket in 2008"

Somehow, I don't think the components of the CPI are weighted correctly for the majority of us....


Copyright (c) 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 Phaedrus