There are numerous advantages to being a Daring Baker.

You get to meet new people and visit new blogs. Once a month you get to try a recipe you might not normally try.

But the one advantage to being a Daring Baker that most people might not be aware of is that being a Daring Baker results in a monthly occurrence whereby incredibly delicious aromas emanate from the vicinity of your kitchen.

Unfortunately, we don’t do dishes, but beyond that The Daring Bakers pretty much rock.

And that certainly goes for Kelly and Ben who are the hosts for this month’s edition of The Daring Baker’s challenge. Kelly and Ben decided to throw down the gauntlet and challenge everyone to make danish dough with an apple and cardamom filling.

I must tell you, my kitchen has rarely smelled as lovely as the day that I made this pastry. Even though I don’t necessarily crave apples in June, the aroma of the cardamom-laced apples was incredible!

Unlike some past challenges, I didn’t photograph the process because I’ve made danish pastry before. I simply enjoyed the recipe for what it was and for what it yielded: a soft, sweet and buttery bread that and a spicy apple interior.

In baking, simple and beautiful need no lengthy explanation.

Instead, I send you to Kelly’s site and Ben’s site for the recipe and to our blogroll to see what all the other Daring Bakers created.

Ciao!

Mamma mia! What happened? June was supposed to be all Italian and then it whizzed by faster than a Roman teenager on a Vespa!

Not that I can complain all that much, mind you. I’ve spent the month enjoying many wonderful meals and best of all, over the past ten days or so, I’ve also been enjoying the fruits of our vegetable garden.

Yes, I’d say Italian June has been quite tasty.

But such a tasty month should end with a lovely little sweet, I think. While I firmly believe my mother’s amaretti are the best, I could not resist trying the amaretti in Maxine Clark’s Easy Italian.

They’re amaretti, but with a bit of a twist in that the recipe calls for pine nuts to be included in the cookie dough.

I’m a relatively new convert to the religion of the pine nut. It was not part of the nut family that I grew up with, which consisted mainly of almonds, walnuts and hazelnuts. I remember tasting the pine nut for the first time and being strangley captivated by it’s butteriness.

As with my mother’s amaretti, these little beauties are very easy to make and are a very pleasant way to end a meal and to bid farewell to what has been a tasty month.

May July be just as sweet!

Ciao!

Amaretti with Pine Nuts
From Easy Italian: Simple Recipes for Every Occasion by Maxine Clark.

Note: Unfortunately I did not have enough pine nuts to use in the cookie dough so I only sprinkled them on top. I used blanched almonds for the entire dough. You can use a pastry bag to pipe out the cookies or you can just use a spoon and carefully spoon drops of the dough onto baking sheets.

2 cups whole blanched almonds
1/2 cup sugar
3 large egg whites
1 tsp. almond extract
1 tsp. orange extract (optional)
a handful of pine nuts (for sprinkling)
icing sugar for dusting (optional)

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

In either a blender or food processor, grind the almonds with about a tablespoon of sugar until they are very fine.

In a bowl, beat the egg whites (with a mixer or by hand) until they are foamy. Begin adding the remaining sugar, a little at a time, and continue beating the egg whites until they are very stiff (stiff peaks form).

Gently fold in the nuts and then add the almond and orange extract (be careful not to overmix so that you don’t deflate the mixture).

Using a tablespoon, carefully spoon rounds of dough onto the parchment-lined baking sheets. Leave a few inches between each cookie.

Sprinkle some of the pine nuts over each cookie and bake for about 30 minutes. The cookies will be firm and lightly golden when they’re done.

Let cool completely before dusting with icing sugar and serving.

Enjoy!

A few weeks ago, as I began hearing about people’s plans for Father’s Day, it occurred to me that ever since my father passed away in 2001, we’ve been spending Father’s Day in our own special way.

Now neither Father’s Day nor Mother’s Day were ever huge days in my family. My father always said that every day should be Mother’s Day and every day should be Father’s Day so while my parents always appreciated our little gifts and well wishes, they instilled in us the belief that honouring your parents is something you should do all the time.

I guess that’s why Father’s Day has never been a particularly tough day for us. It’s not that we don’t think about him, it’s just that we spend the day the way we always spent it even when he was alive: together enjoying a nice meal.

When I received the June issue of Gourmet magazine, I came across a feature by Gina Marie Miraglia Eriquez called “Sear Delight”. The entire menu is prepared on the grill and is also Italian-themed. This being Italian June, I thought that I might take it upon myself to prepare the entire menu!

So for this edition of Magazine Mondays, I give you the following treats:

Grilled Pancetta-Wrapped Asparagus

Love pancetta. Love asparagus. Enough said.

Caramelized-Onion and Gorgonzola Grilled Pizza

This was my first time preparing a grilled pizza and I loved it. I was amazed at how quickly it cooked. I was so afraid that the ingredients would spill over, though, that I was a bit ungenerous. Next time I’ll be piling on that gorgonzola dolce for sure!

Grilled Veal Chops with Arugula and Basil Salad

We grill veal chops all the time but this is the first time that we pounded the meat so thinkly. They were so tender! And the arugula and basil salad was a nice touch although I had to augment it with romaine lettuce as our arugula is just coming in so there wasn’t enough for a full salad.

Grilled Baby Artichokes with Caper-Mint Sauce

Prepping the artichokes was a total pain in the butt, however, it was worth it. These were the hit of the day and that caper-mint sauce had us all licking our fingers.

Acini di Pepe Pasta with Garlic and Olives

Some of us liked this pasta salad with the couscous-like acini di pepe and some of us didn’t. I loved it. It was garlicky and spicy but if I make it again I might add in some herbs for more of a flavour impact.

Stracciatella Tortoni Cake with Espresso Fudge Sauce

Hello, Tortoni! This was a cross between an ice cream cake and heaven. I loved it so much that I’ve already decided I’m making it for a big family BBQ that we’re having in a few weeks. And that sauce … oh, that sauce!!!

Have a great week, everyone!

Ciao!

Look who else is taking part in Magazine Mondays: Liliana of My Cookbook Addiction made Maple Sugar Ragamuffins. Wandering Coyote of Retorte comes in with two delicious entries: Chocolate Strawberry Shortcake and Coconut Blondies.

If you have some magazine piles you need to thin out then start cooking and baking and send me a link to your Magazine Mondays post!

Makes you think of snakes doesn’t it? Creepy!

But actually there’s nothing creepy about this post or the cookies pictured above for those are S Cookies made by my very own Mama Cream Puff!

When I was a kid, we would either eat homemade cookies or, on occasion, Italian store-bought cookies. While my brother and I longed for Oreos or Chips Ahoy, what we got was a pretty small selection of your basic Italian-style cookie. Most popular among these cookies (with my mother), was the S Cookie. The brand of choice was Biscotti Milano.

S Cookies were crisp, dry cookies, shaped like an S, with a very light vanilla glaze. While the glaze did give them some sweetness, they weren’t overtly sweet, which is why I think they were the preferred cookie. Also, their dry nature made them perfect for dipping into a class of milk and coffee, which also made them popular with my parents.

I detested S Cookies. Not so much because they didn’t taste good, but rather because they didn’t taste like Oreos.

Once I was old enough to assert a certain level of cookie independence, I turned my nose up at S Cookies deeming them far too simple and rustic for my refined 9-year old tastes. I still didn’t get my Oreos, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to give anyone the satisfaction of eating an S Cookie.

Of course, then I grew up and realized what a stupid kid I was.

Don’t get me wrong. Oreos are great. But one bite of an S Cookie and I’m transported back to those wonderful homemade cookies that would come from my grandmother’s or my mother’s kitchens. And there’s just no comparison. Sorry, Oreos!

Back in March, I featured Sweet Maria’s Italian Cookie Tray by Maria Bruscino Sanchez as the Flavour of the Month on my blog. I didn’t have the chance to try these back then, but I asked my mother if she’d give them a go and she did. While they’re not quite like the S Cookies that we used to buy, they’re very good. Crispy and dry with a nice cinnamon sugar coating, they’re the perfect cookie to munch on with your milk and coffee.

Another fun thing to do in Italian June.

Ciao!

Cinnamon S Cookies
From Sweet Maria’s Italian Cookie Tray by Maria Bruscino Sanchez.

Note: The original recipe bakes these cookie at 375 degrees F. but we found that to be way too hot. We lowered the heat to 355 degrees F. Also, the original recipe uses a cinnamon and brown sugar mixture for the coating but we preferred a cinnamon and granulated sugar coating.

1/2 cup (1 stick), unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsps. cinnamon
2 tbsps. granulated sugar

Preheat the oven to 355 degrees F. Line two baking trays with parchment paper.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix the butter and brown sugar on medium high speed until light and fluffy (about 3 minuts). Add the egg and mix well. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure the egg is incorporated.

With the mixer on low speed, add the flour and baking powder. As soon as a dough forms, turn the mixer off.

Remove the dough to a lightly floured surface (have some extra flour on hand in case the dough gets sticky).

Break off small pieces of dough and roll them into ropes that are about 5 to 6 inches long. The rope should be the width of a straw or pencil.

In a large, shallow dish, mix together the cinnamon and sugar. Roll the ropes of dough in the cinnamon-sugar mixture and then form an S shape with the rope of dough when you place it on the baking sheet.

Leave a few inches of space between each cookie.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, keeping an eye on the cookies as they can burn very easily. They’re ready when they begin to turn slightly golden.

Remove the cookies from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

Okay.

I know I said June was going to be all Italian and stuff but I had to really struggle to find the Italian link for today’s post. So I figured I’d figured I’d use one of my favourite Italian words, dolce (sweet), to describe one truly sweet book: My Sweet Vegan by Hannah Kaminsky.

I am unapologetically not a vegan. I support everyone in their food choices and understand that many people have dietary and other health issues that require certain diets. I get it.

But I love my meat, my dairy, my nuts, my flour and everything in between.

However, last year I did have the experience of having to bake a nut-free cake and it changed the way that I look at specialized cuisine, especially baking.

When I was approached with the chance to review Hannah’s book, I said yes not so much because I was interested in vegan baking, but more so because I’m a big fan of Hannah’s!

Her blog is called BitterSweet and it’s just gorgeous! Besides the fact that Hannah is an amazing cook and baker, she’s also amazing with crafts. Seriously, some of the things she makes are jaw-dropping. I encourage you to visit her blog and see for yourselves!

So what to say about her book? For starters, it’s a very pretty book. By this I mean it has tonnes of beautiful photos and is laid out with bright colours that draw you in to the recipes.

Now as for the recipes themselves, well, it’s an entire book dedicated to sweets, many of them originals and many of them veganized versions of classics.

As I read through the book trying to decide what to make, I made my way to p. 62 and stopped in my tracks.

You know when you go to parties and there’s always that big bowl of something called “Party Mix”. Well I’m the girl at the party that grabs the bowl and hogs it going so far as to snarl at anyone that comes near.

I loooooooooooooooooove party mix!

So when I saw a recipe for Party Mix Bars, well of course I had to make them. And they were so very good!

I’d like to thank Hannah for creating such a beautiful book and certainly making me think about the merits of a vegetarian lifestyle (no … I’m not switching but I am trying to be more conscious of eating habits). I’d like to thank her for being so patient as this review has been a long time in coming.

But most importantly, I’d like to thank her for creating a lovely little book with a very distinctive voice that gives vegetarians the opportunity to enjoy lots of great sweets, and everyone else the opportunity to experiment with a different way of baking.

Ciao!

Maple Coconut Party Mix Drops
Adapted from My Sweet Vegan by Hannah Kaminsky.

Note: The original recipe makes a 9 x 13 inch pan of party mix bars. I’ve cut the recipe in half and chosen to make individual servings of the sweet party mix. I’ve also “un”veganized it by using butter where the original recipe uses margerine. Sorry … I don’t do margerine! I’ve also substituted some of the corn syrup with maple syrup which offers great flavour.

1 cup mini pretzel twists
1 cup Chex rice cereal (or a similar cereal)
1-1/2 cups crispy rice cereal
1 cup mixed salted nuts (you can use any nuts you like)
1 tbsp. unsalted butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tbsp. coconut extract

Spray 12 aluminum cups or 12 foil cupcake liners with a bit of cooking spray and set aside.

Combine the pretzel twists, the cereals and the nuts in a large bowl.

In a small pan, melt the butter then add the sugar and stir until combined.

Add the corn syrup and maple syrup and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and cook the mixture for about 3 minutes until it thickens a bit.

Turn off the heat and add the coconut exctract. Immediately pour the mixture over the cereal and nuts and stir so that everything is well coated.

Working quickly, spoon the mixture into the prepared baking cups. Each cup will take 2 to 3 tablespoons full of the cereal and nut mixture. Let cool and then enjoy!

I have decided that June is going to be an Italian month.

So that would be Giugno.

I have no particular reason for this decision other than the fact that a little over a month ago I purchased this delightful little book by Maxine Clark and fell in love with it.

Seriously in love. In fact I’ve been taking it to bed with me every night for the past week!

One of the recipes that intrigued me as soon as I saw it was one for Devil’s Potatoes. It’s a dish of boiled potatoes drenched in olive oil and flecked with evil hot red chili peppers.

We eat a lot of boiled potatoes with olive oil and salt. In the summer, my mother will often throw in a bit of mint, which is delicious. At this time of year, it’s hard to find red chili peppers that are truly hot. The ones in the supermarket barely pass the spicy test in my family (we are pros when it comes to spicy food). I find we have better luck with jalapenos until we’re able to pick the hot red peppers from our garden (hopefully in another month or so).

I added chopped parsley and mint to the jalapenos, drenched the potatoes in lots of gorgeous extra virgin olive oil and added some sea salt as a final touch.

Delicious!

Enjoy Italian June … I mean Giugno.

Ciao!

Potatoes with Mint, Parsley and Jalapenos
Adapted from Easy Italian: Simple Recipe for Every Occasion by Maxine Clark.

Note: This dish will serve 4 people.

4 large potatoes, boiled with the skins on until cooked through
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (or more depending on your tastes)
2 tbsp. chopped parsley
1 tbsp. chopped mint
1 jalapeno, finely chopped (if you don’t like spicy food then you should seed the jalapeno)
sea salt to taste

Let the boiled potatoes cool for a few minutes before peeling off the skins. Slice the potatoes into thick rounds (at least half an inch) and place rounds in a bowl.

Pour the olive oil over the potatoes. We like our potatoes to be drenched in olive oil so we may use as much as half a cup. How much you use is up to you.

Scatter the chopped mint, parsley and jalapeno over the potatoes. With your hands or with a large spoon, mix thoroughly.

Add salt to taste and serve.

Enjoy!