Budino Di Lorenzo Di Magnifico Food

BUDINO DI CIOCCOLATO

Steps:

• Put the kettle on, and warm the milk and cream together either in a saucepan or microwave.
• Put the sugar and cornstarch into another saucepan and sieve in the cocoa. Add the 2 tablespoons of boiling water and whisk to a paste.
• Then whisk in the egg yolks, 1 at a time, followed by the warmed milk and cream, and then the vanilla extract.
• Scrape down the sides of your pan and put it on the heat, cooking and whisking for about 3 to 4 minutes until the mixture thickens - if it helps, think of consistency like mayonnaise.
• Take off the heat and whisk in the finely chopped chocolate, before pouring into 4 small cups or glasses each with a yield of about 2/3 of a cup.
• Cover the tops of the cups with clingfilm/clingwrap (plastic wrap) to stop them from forming a skin, and then refrigerate once they are cooler. Make sure they are not still fridge-cold when you serve them. You can add a blob of cream on top if you like.

COLOMBA DI PASQUA

Steps:

• In a small cup or bowl, stir the yeast into water to soften. In a large bowl, cream the butter, almond paste and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the softened yeast, lemon peel, vanilla, salt, eggs, egg yolk, milk, and 3 cups flour to the creamed mixture. Beat vigorously for 2 minutes. Gradually add flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until the dough begins to pull away from the side of the bowl. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface. Knead, adding flour a little at a time, until you have a smooth, elastic dough. Put the dough into an oiled bowl. Turn to coat the entire ball of dough with oil. Cover with a tightly woven towel and let rise about 1 1/2 hours. Due to the almond paste, this recipe doesn't double in size. Turn the dough out onto a lightly oiled work surface and divide in half. Shape each half into a smooth ball. Cover and let rest 5 minutes. Shape one ball of dough into a half oval 12 inches wide and four inches high at the center. Place in the center of a parchment-lined baking sheet. Flatten the center slightly so that when the next piece of dough is laid across it, it won't be so thick. Shape the other ball of dough into an 8 by 16 by 16-inch triangle Keep the points of the triangle rounded rather than pointed. Lay the triangle, centered, on the flattened part of the half oval. Fold the narrow end over to make the head. Pinch with your fingers to form a beak into the top side of the dough. Fold the other end in the opposite direction to form the tail. Cut 2-inch slits along the bottom edge of the tail and wing tips. Fan them out as for feathers. Cover with a towel and let rise 45 minutes. Again, due to the almond paste, the dough won't rise as high as other types of yeast dough; however, it does rise high during baking. 1. About 10 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. 2. Just before baking, beat the egg white until frothy. Lightly brush the dove with the beaten egg white and place thinly sliced almonds, overlapping slightly, on the tail and wings to simulate feathers. Use a small bit of an almond to make the dove's eye (diagram 7). Carefully brush the almond "feathers" with the remaining beaten egg white then sprinkle the dove with granulated sugar. 3. Bake for 20 minutes. Cover the bread loosely with foil with the shiny side up. Continue to bake for 10 more minutes, or until the internal temperature of the loaf reaches 190 degrees. 4. Immediately remove dove from baking sheet and cool on a rack.

TARALLI DOLCI DI PASQUA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
• In a mixer, beat the eggs and yolks until pale and fluffy. Slowly stream in the granulated sugar, melted butter and vanilla, and continue to mix until smooth.
• Add the flour, baking powder and salt, and continue to mix on low until everything comes together in a firm dough.
• On a lightly floured wooden board, briefly knead the dough to make a smooth ball, then pat into a rectangle and cut into 4 equal pieces. Split the pieces in half again to make 8 pieces, then repeat to make 16 equal dough balls. Set aside to make room to roll them.
• Use your fingers to gently roll out each dough ball into a 12-inch rope; if the dough is excessively sticky, dust your hands very lightly with flour, then knead the dough for about 20 seconds. (If you use too much flour the dough will become brittle, so go easy on it.)
• Cut each rope into three 4-inch sections, pinch the ends together to make rings, and place on the prepared baking sheets about 3 inches apart. Brush the tops with milk and sprinkle with sanding sugar.
• Bake the cookies, rotating halfway through, 16 to 18 minutes. Let cool on racks, 20 minutes. The cookies will last for 10 days in an airtight container.

BUDINO DI LORENZO DI MAGNIFICO

Steps:

• Equipment: 6-cup souffle dish with vertical sides. Ideal dimensions: 6-inch diameter by 4-inch height. Cut off the domed top and the side and bottom crust of the panettone leaving about a bit over a pounds worth. Trim the pannettone further so that it fits very snugly into the dish you have chosen and comes just to the top edge of the dish. Slice it crosswise into 1/2-inch thick slices. Leave them exposed overnight to the air or put them on a cookie sheet in a very low oven for an hour or so, until the panettone has dried out a bit. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the water with 3/4 cup of the sugar in a heavy, 2-quart saucepan. Stir over high heat until the sugar is dissolved and the liquid clears. Cook undisturbed until the edges start to brown; then swirl the pan continuosly and vigorously until all the sugar has caramelized to a golden amber color. Immediately pour the caramel into the souffle dish. As the caramel cools and hardens, turn the dish in all directions so that the inside is evenly coated. The caramel will spread further in baking. In a saucepan, bring the milk and lemon zest to a simmer, remove from the heat and allow to cool for a few minutes. In a large bowl, mix well the remaining 3/4 cup sugar with the eggs. Gradually stir in the hot milk. Trim one slice of panettone so that it fits into the bottom of the souffle dish. Spoon 2 or 3 tablespoons of melted butter over it and then enough of the custard mixture to cover the panettone. Let it absorb the custard, adding more if necessary to cover. Repeat with additional slices of panettone, melted butter, and custard until the dish is filled to the very top. With each slice (and especially the last), use your palm to hold down the panettone until it completely submerged and saturated with custard. Do not compress the panettone, or the budino will be too dense. Drizzle any remaining butter over the top. Place the souffle dish into a larger pan filled with enough very hot tap water to come three-quarters of the way up the side of the dish. Bake for about an hour and a half. The top should be puffed and brown, the pudding should begin to pull away from the sides of the dish, and the internal temperature should rise to between 160 and 170 degrees. Allow the pudding to cool for at least 15 minutes. Just before serving, run a thin knife around the inside of the dish and unmold the pudding by inverting the souffle dish onto a large plate. Serve warm, cut into wedges. Yield: 8 servings. Recipe by: COOKING LIVE SHOW #CL9291

INVOLTINE DI MELANZANE CON CAPELLI D'ANGELO

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Cut off the bottoms and stems of the eggplants. Peel them using a vegetable peeler and slice them into 1/2-inch slices.
• In a heavy bottomed pan heat some olive oil and fry the eggplant slices for about 4 to 5 minutes (if you prefer a healthier version of the dish, you can grill the eggplants). Place the cooked slices on some paper towels to drain any excess oil.
• In a large bowl combine the butter, freshly grated Parmesan, and salt, to taste. Add the roughly shredded fresh basil leaves.
• Place the angel hair pasta or spaghetti into a pan of boiling water, bring back to the boil and cook until al dente. Drain.
• Add the cooked pasta into the big bowl with the butter mixture and combine.
• Take a small portion of the pasta and place it on top of an eggplant slice. Roll the eggplant around the pasta and place it in an oven-proof dish. Repeat this process with all the eggplants slices.
• Pour some pureed tomato sauce, or passata, over the eggplant rolls. Place slices of cacioavallo on the top. Finally cover the dish with more freshly grated Parmesan.
• Place the dish in oven for around 20 minutes, or until sauce is bubbly.

BACI DI DAMA

Steps:

• In a food processor, pulse together the flour, confectioners' sugar, ground hazelnuts, baking powder and salt until completely combined. Add the cold butter all at once, and continue to pulse until it comes together.
• Place the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and flatten to about 1 inch, then wrap well and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
• Pinch off teaspoon-sized pieces of dough and roll into small balls, then transfer to the prepared cookie sheets, spacing them 2 inches apart. Bake, rotating the cookie sheets halfway through, until dry to the touch, 13 to 15 minutes. Let cool undisturbed (the cookies are fragile) on the cookie sheets on a rack.
• Once cool, spread the chocolate hazelnut spread on the bottoms of the cookies and sandwich them together. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.