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"Oggi a te, domani a me." (Today to you, tomorrow to me. Every dog has its day.) Welcome to another recipe edition from Adriana's Italian Bakery!

This week's Italian recipes:
  -Spaghetti con Pollo, Salsiccia, e Peperone
  -Risotto con Carciofi, Prosciutto e Peperone
  -Tiramisu con Lampone e Caffè

Enjoy the recipes and the complimentary news article report from "Only In Italy.com".

Arrivederci!

Yours Truly,              
Adriana Ciccarello       

Italian cookies for the Easter Holidays

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Enjoy them with a cup of espresso or a bottle of Prosecco. It will give a wonderful touch to your holiday feast, a proper ending with a touch of Sicilian sunshine.

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All orders must be placed by Wednesday, March 12, at 6:00 PM EST. Click here to order!

Recipe: Spaghetti con Pollo, Salsiccia, e Peperone

Spaghetti con Pollo, Salsiccia, e Peperone
Spaghetti with Chicken, Sausage, and Pepper Sauce

Ingredients:

1 onion, sliced thin
1 garlic clove, minced
1 green bell pepper, cut into strips
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 pound skinless boneless chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips
1/2 pound sweet or hot Italian sausage links, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick pieces
A 14 to 16-ounce can tomatoes, chopped, including the juice
1/4 cup dry red wine
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
1/4 teaspoon dried basil, crumbled
1/4 teaspoon sugar
3/4 pound spaghetti
1/4 cup heavy cream

Directions:

In a large saucepan saute the onion, the garlic, and the bell pepper in the olive oil over moderately high heat, stirring, until the vegetables begin to brown.

Add the chicken, the sausage, the tomatoes with the juice, the wine, the oregano, the basil, and the sugar and boil the mixture gently, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.

While the mixture is boiling, in a kettle of boiling salted water boil the spaghetti until it is 'al dente' and drain it well.

To the tomato mixture add the cream and salt and pepper to taste and simmer the sauce for 3 minutes, or until it is thickened slightly.

Divide the spaghetti between 2 plates and spoon the sauce over it. Serves 2.

That's it!

Recipe: Risotto con Carciofi, Prosciutto e Peperone

Risotto con Carciofi, Prosciutto e Peperone
Risotto with Artichoke Hearts, Prosciutto, and Red Bell Pepper

Ingredients:

2 cups chicken broth
1/2 small red bell pepper, cut into julienne strips
1/2 cup frozen artichoke hearts, cooked according to the package directions and drained
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, minced
A 1/4-inch-thick slice of prosciutto, cut into 1/4-inch dice (about 1/4 cup)
1 cup Arborio rice (Italian short-grain rice)
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley leaves
White pepper to taste

Directions:

In a small saucepan dilute the broth with 2 cups water, bring it to a boil, and keep the broth at a bare simmer.

In a heavy saucepan cook the bell pepper and the artichoke hearts in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over moderate heat, stirring, for 2 minutes and transfer them with a slotted spoon to a bowl.

In the heavy pan cook the onion in the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil over moderately low heat, stirring, until it is softened, stir in the prosciutto and the rice with a wooden spatula, and cook the mixture over moderate heat, stirring, for 1 minute, or until the rice is coated well with the olive oil.

Add the wine and cook the mixture over moderately high heat, stirring, for 1 to 3 minutes, or until the wine is absorbed, add 1/2 cup of the simmering broth, and cook the mixture at a vigorous simmer, stirring, for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed.

Continue adding the broth, about 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and letting each portion be absorbed before adding the next, until only 1/2 cup of the broth remains.

Stir in the vegetables and 1/3 cup of the remaining broth and simmer the mixture, stirring, for 1 minute, or until the liquid is absorbed. (The risotto should be creamy, but the rice grains should be 'al dente'.) If necessary add the remaining broth and cook the risotto in the same manner until the rice is 'al dente'.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the Parmesan cheese, parsley, and the white pepper. Serves 2.

That's it!

Recipe: Tiramisu con Lampone e Caffè

Tiramisu con Lampone e Caffè
Raspberry and Coffee Tiramisu

Ingredients:

For the ladyfinger round:
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon finely ground espresso coffee
3 extra-large eggs, separated, room temperature
5 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Powdered sugar

For the filling:
3 tablespoons framboise eau-de-vie (raspberry brandy)
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder or instant coffee granules
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese (preferably oil-fashioned, low-salt cream cheese), room temperature
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1 6-ounce basket raspberries or 1 and 1/2 cups frozen unsweetened, thawed, drained
3/4 cup freshly brewed strong espresso coffee, room temperature
3 tablespoons sugar
Additional powdered sugar
Fresh mint

For the raspberry sauce:
Makes about 1 and 1/4 cups
1 10-ounce package frozen raspberries in syrup, thawed
2 tablespoons framboise eau-de-vie

Directions:

For the ladyfinger round:
Preheat oven to 350° F.

Line two cookie sheets with parchment.

Mix flour and ground coffee beans in small bowl.

Using electric mixer, beat egg yolks and 4 tablespoons sugar in medium bowl until thick and slowly dissolving ribbon forms when beaters are lifted, about 4 minutes. Beat in vanilla.

Mix in dry ingredients (batter will be thick).

Using electric mixer fitted with clean dry beaters, beat egg whites until thick and foamy. Add remaining 1 tablespoon sugar and beat until whites are stiff but not dry.

Fold into yolk mixture in two additions.

Drop batter by rounded tablespoons (8 per sheet) onto prepared sheets, spacing evenly.

Sift powdered sugar thickly over rounds.

Bake until rounds are golden brown on edges, about 16 minutes.

Cool in pan on rack. Remove ladyfinger rounds from parchment (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Store in single layer in airtight container).

For the filling:
Combine framboise and instant espresso in small bowl. Stir until espresso dissolves.

Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and 2/3 cup powdered sugar until light and fluffy.

Beat in coffee mixture.

Fold in 1 cup raspberries.

Let stand at room temperature.

Combine coffee and 3 tablespoons sugar. Stir until sugar dissolves.

Spoon 1 scant tablespoon coffee mixture over flat side of 1 ladyfinger round.

Place coffee side up on plate. Spread 1/3 cup filling atop round. Place flat side down atop filling. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Spoon raspberry sauce around desserts. Garnish with remaining raspberries and fresh mint and serve.

For the raspberry sauce:
Puree raspberries and syrup in processor.

Strain into small bowl to remove seeds.

Stir in eau-de-vie. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.) Serves 6.

That's it!

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Only In Italy!

"Only In Italy" is a daily news column that translates & reports on funny but true news items from legitimate Italian news resources in Italy. Each story is slapped with our wild, often ironic, and sometimes rather opinionated comments. And now, for your reading pleasure:

Aircraft Checks Suspended

Milan - January 23, 2008 - About ten aircraft await airworthiness checks and remain grounded. Foreign jets land and take off at outlying airports without undergoing controls of any kind. Infrastructures and security systems at airports large and small are monitored by local inspectors but are no longer subject to surprise checks. Italian air transport is out of control, or rather out of controllers. Since the start of the new year, the inspectors of the Italian civil aviation authority, ENAC, have been refusing to leave their offices in protest at the suspension of their travel allowance: two euros an hour before tax.

"Two hundred and fifty inspectors are involved, including engineers, pilots and SAFA workers who implement the EU program to compile the blacklist which entails checks on non-EU aircraft", explains Enrico Deodati, who is in charge of the office that monitors non-Italian operators and is also a FIT-CISL trade unionist. All these workers now taking industrial action.

There are union meetings every day and out-of-office work has been banned. "There could be serious consequences for airlines, the sector and passengers", warn the FP-CGIL, FIT-CISL, APAC and SDL unions.

"The situation could determine situations of objective danger for flight safety", says the pilots' union. "One of the reasons is the new recruitment procedure for executives and the suspension of funds for staff development policies: air traffic is increasing, and so are our duties, but funding is not", adds Mr Deodati.

As a first consequence of the industrial action, seven Alitalia aircraft awaiting renewal of their airworthiness certificates have been unable to take off. Since Saturday, a plane belonging to Alitalia Express and another one from Meridiana have also been grounded. Worries are now growing. "If the ban continues", said a Meridiana spokesperson, "there will be problems for both Italian and non-domestic airlines". There are no SAFA inspections on foreign flights at airports like Naples, Cagliari or Reggio Calabria, or indeed at Forlì, where air traffic from the East is subject to constant controls.

ENAC executives have asked the government to modify the offending article of the budget as soon as possible. "We have received assurances. An amendment should be included in the so-called 'thousand-postponements' decree", says ENAC's director general, Silvano Manera. The amendment was presented yesterday by Antonio Attili, a Democratic Left parliamentarian: "Traffic is growing and they're making cutbacks. It's criminal. ENAC is like the police". But leaving the government crisis to one side, the assurances were not enough. The inspectors have extended their industrial action.

"Oh, figlio di puttana!" There's something to reflect upon the next time you're on a plane in Italy and get the stupid urge to sing "Volare!"

"The situation could determine situations of objective danger for flight safety", says the pilots' union. There will always be objective danger for flight safety when you're inspecting a plane by web cam. On several Alitalia flights there are McDonnell-Douglas from the 70s that make your heart jump at the sound of loose rivets and your "spaghetti all'amatriciana" revolve in your gut in the untidiness of the flying washing machine.

Then you have the sharp-suited Alitalia pilots laden with gold braid that stride like high class whores across airport concourses the world over, confident their Alitalia badges mark them out as the "creme de la creme". This "creme" should be taught a lesson by treating them like week-old tomato sauce that's salvaged by reheating, adding extra black pepper and olive oil.

And the next time you're told to put your seat in the upright position and buckle up, tell your stressed out and phoney Italian stewardess you're going downstairs with a wrench to make sure the landing gear comes down...and your luggage is still there.

"Only In Italy" Subscribe today and you'll discover why the last improvements to Italy were made by Julius Caesar and why it's been downhill ever since!  Click Here to Subscribe!

 
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