Simple Italy

Celebrating Your Inner Italian

Roasted Tomatoes

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Roasting tomatoes caramelizes the natural sugars for a sweet tart side dish.

Roasting tomatoes caramelizes the natural sugars for a sweet tart side dish.

 

Roasted Tomatoes
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Recipe type: Side Dish
Cuisine: Italian
Author:
Serves: 8
A medley of different tomato varieties--grape, cherry, heirlooms--is fine for this dish. Just make sure they are cut into equal sized chunks.
Ingredients
  • 4 pounds plum tomatoes, quartered lengthwise
  • ½ cup minced fresh mixed herbs such as parsley, rosemary, sage, and thyme
  • 3 large cloves garlic, slivered
  • Zest of 1 lemon, cut into thin strips
  • Extra-virgin olive oil
  • Salt
  • Ground black pepper
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven or covered grill (indirect heat) to 400° F. In a lasagna pan or other large rectangular baking dish, toss the tomatoes, herbs, garlic, and lemon zest. Drizzle generously with oil and season with salt and pepper.
  2. Roast for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes are very soft and the juices are thickened. Serve hot or room temperature as a side dish or a pasta sauce.

“Contact Us” Glitch Fixed

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Sorry we were out of touch.

Sorry we were out of touch.

We’re embarrassed.

Our “Contact Us” capability crashed at the worst possible time!

It went down just as we launched our wonderful “SimpleItaly Adventure in Tuscany Tour: A Celebration of the Senses.”

If you tried to reach us, we apologize for not getting back to you.

The “Contact Us” function is now working and we’d like to hear from you.

Grazie,

Sharon and Walter Sanders

Coffee Semifreddo

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Bold and bracing, a coffee semifreddo slices through summer humidity.

Bold and bracing, a coffee semifreddo slices through summer humidity.

If the Lemon Semifreddo in the previous post can be characterized as angelic, this Coffee Semifreddo is the devilish counterpart. It is the sweet weapon of choice when you want to go full throttle against the torpor of summer weather.

 

Coffee Semifreddo
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Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: Italian
Author:
Serves: 8
The USDA recommends that, due to possible danger from Salmonella contamination, pasteurized in-shell eggs should be used for any recipe calling for uncooked or undercooked eggs.
Ingredients
  • 3 large eggs, separated (see note above)
  • ¾ cup confectioners’ sugar, divided
  • ½ cup brewed espresso or very strong coffee
  • 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract or brandy
  • Pinch of salt
  • ¾ cup heavy or whipping cream
  • Cocoa powder, chocolate curls, or chocolate-covered coffee beans
Instructions
  1. Line a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with plastic wrap so excess hangs over the sides. Set aside.
  2. In a medium saucepan, combine the egg yolks and ¼ cup sugar. With a flat-bottom whisk, stir until well combined. Stir in the espresso or coffee. Set over medium-high heat and cook, whisking constantly, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan and set it in a larger container filled with ice water; whisk occasionally until cool about 15 minutes. Stir in the vanilla or brandy.
  3. Combine the egg whites and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium speed until whites look foamy. Continue beating while gradually adding ¼ cup sugar, until stiff peaks form.
  4. In another mixing bowl, using the same beater, beat the cream with a mixer at high speed, adding the remaining ¼ cup sugar half way through, until doubled in volume.
  5. Fold the egg-white mixture into coffee mixture then gently fold in whipped cream. Pour and spread into the prepared pan. Bring the extra plastic wrap over the top to cover the semifreddo. Place in the freezer at least 12 hours or up to 3 days.
  6. To unmold, remove top plastic wrap. Set aside for about 10 minutes. Place the pan over a serving platter, and turn the semifreddo out of the pan. Slice with a sharp knife.
  7. Dust with cocoa powder or garnish with chocolate curls or chocolate-covered coffee beans.

 

Click here for information about egg cooking safety.

Click here for information about pasteurized in-shell eggs.

 

MIT to Tuscany

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 By Walter Sanders

John and Peggy Heywood take a break from hiking in the hills surrounding Montestigliano.

John and Peggy Heywood take a break from hiking in the hills surrounding Montestigliano.

There are magical places on earth. Places that revive happy memories and help you create new ones. Places that inspire great activity and make you feel productive, welcome, and alive.

For John B. Heywood, Sun Jae Professor of Mechanical Engineering Emeritus at MIT, Tuscany is that magical place. More specifically, it’s a hilltop agriturismo hamlet just south of Siena called Montestigliano.

“This whole Italy thing began about 20 years ago, when my wife Peggy and I saw a film called Enchanted April,” John says.

“We were captivated by the movie. It portrayed how a group of British visitors were transformed during a trip to Italy,” Peggy says. “We tried to figure out how we could incorporate Italy into John’s work as well as our personal lives.”

The answer turned out to be a sabbatical.

[Read more…]