Italian Horns Food

ITALIAN CREAM STUFFED CANNONCINI (PUFF PASTRY HORNS)

Steps:

• Warm up the milk until hot (not boiling).
• In a medium sized pan, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar, vanilla extract and flour, until light and fluffy.
• Add the milk some at a time while whisking, making sure there are no lumps.
• Place the pan over medium heat and stir continuously until it reaches a slow boil. The cream will thicken, so be careful not to let it stick to the bottom. Lower the flame and cook for a couple of more minutes, until you reach the desire thickness.
• Pour the cream in a glass bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let it cool down. Refrigerate for at least one hour.
• Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
• Sprinkle some sugar on the counter and on top of the puff pastry and roll it out to a rectangle about 9 by 12 inches.
• Cut into 12 stripes (about 1 inch thick). Easy way to do it: cut the pastry in three parts, and then each part into four strips.
• Roll each strip onto a horn mold (conical in shape). The pastry has to overlap (about half of the length).
• Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper with seem (end of the strip) side down.
• Beat one egg with one tablespoon of water. Brush lightly each pastry cone with the egg wash.
• Make sure you keep the egg wash away from the mold. It will make it harder to remove the pastry horn from the mold once baked.
• Bake at 400°F (200 °C) for about 15-20 minutes until golden on top.
• Let them cool down for a couple of minutes and gently remove from the mold. If the pastry sticks to the mold, you can press in the mold a little (to make the circumference smaller) and very gently turn it inside the pastry until it comes off.
• Before serving, fill with the cream using a piping bag. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if you like, and enjoy!

ITALIAN SOUR CREAM HORNS

Steps:

• For dough: Dissolve yeast in warm water. Sift flour; add salt. Add butter, eggs yolks, sour cream.
• , vanilla and dissolved yeast mixture to flour mixture; work with hands until a moist dough forms. Cover and refrigerate 1 to 2 hours, or overnight.
• Divide dough into eight pieces. Dust rolling pin and work surfaces with powdered sugar. Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll out dough to about 1/8 inch thickness (slightly thinner than pie dough, more like noodle dough).
• Cut dough into a circle approximately 8 inches in diameter. (You may want to use a stainless steel bowl and just press out a circle). Refrigerate dough circle. Continue rolling and cutting remaining dough, refrigerating circles as you go. Re-roll leftover dough pieces and cut into circles.
• Cut each circle of dough into 16 triangular pieces or wedges.
• For filling: Beat egg whites until foamy. Gradually add sugar; beat until stiff. Fold in pecans and vanilla.
• Spread 1/2 teaspoon filling on each triangle of dough; roll up, beginning with largest end. Place roll, small end down, on greased cookie sheet.
• Bake in a 350 degrees F oven 10 to 12 minutes, or until slightly browned on bottom. Immediately transfer to racks to cool.
• Sift powdered sugar over cooled cookies. Store in airtight container. Yield: About 10 dozen cookies.

ITALIAN HORN COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cut butter into flour until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in ice cream. Divide into 4 portions. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours. , On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion to 1/8-in. thickness. With a fluted pastry cutter, cut into 2-in. squares. Place about 1/2 teaspoon filling in the center of each square. Overlap 2 opposite corners of dough over the filling and seal. Sprinkle lightly with sugar. , Place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes or until bottoms are light brown. Cool on wire racks. If desired, dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.

ITALIAN HORNS

Steps:

• Combine cream cheese, ricotta, olives with pimiento and garlic in processor bowl and process until smooth.
• To make each horn, place a piece of prosciutto on work surface and spread with a layer of cheese, top that layer with a slice each of Genoa and ham layered next to each other. Spread more cheese over the salami and ham and place a bread stick and a celery stick at 1 end of the meats with ends hanging off to the side. Wrap and roll the meat forming a fancy Italian horn. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
• Arrange a platter with antipasti and garnish with a pile of Italian horns.