PANCAKES

Who knows how to make homemade pancakes? Does anyone still remember how to make them from scratch? As I was cleaning my kitchen cabinets the other day, I found an abundant collection of cake mixes that my family uses on a daily basis. But why would we need cake mixes when we can make our own desserts? I just think it's more fun and it's a great challenge that everybody should be happy to face. Even if a perfect dessert never comes out because we are not professional bakers, it's always interesting to give every recipe a try.
As far as I know, pancakes have been part of the American food culture for many years and they are absolutely perfect on a Sunday morning or for a holiday breakfast. What is amazing about pancakes is that you can add multiple toppings and they will always be excellent and tasty, even with fresh fruits like chopped bananas, strawberries and blueberries.
To make them you need the following ingredients:
2 cups of all-purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups milk

2 tablespoons melted butter

First of all, put the dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking powder and granulated sugar) in a bowl and sift them together. In a separate bowl, whisk the two large eggs together and add the milk at room temperature. When you are done with that, put everything in one bowl and mix until your mixture is smooth and blended. Before you cook your pancakes, add the melted butter and stir again. Use a greased griddle and cook 1/4 of a cup of batter for each pancake. Cook until the edges are dry and the bottom is brown.

Enjoy! :)

French Crepes

As I was watching Julia & Julie last night, I suddenly desired to eat good French food. My favorite French recipe is an old dish that Pope Gelasio invented many years ago by mixing basic ingredients together. You all know what I'm talking about and I'm sure you all have tried Crepes before. What is really interesting about Crepes is that you can eat them with anything and at any time. They could be your dessert, your breakfast and sometimes your lunch too. You don't have to buy any particular ingredients to make Crepes, you just need good cooking skills and some patience.
Here is the list of the ingredients for six people:
40 gr of butter, 250 gr of flour, a pinch of salt, two drops of vanilla extract, a pinch of cinnamon, 1/2 liter of milk, 3 eggs and 60 gr of sugar.
Put the dry ingredients (flour, salt, sugar) in one large bowl and add the milk and the two drops of vanilla to the mixture. With an electric mixer, mix it very well until blended.
In a different bowl, combine the two eggs together and beat them with a whisk. When that is done, put the two eggs in the first bowl while mixing and finally add your melted butter.
To cook Crepes, you'll need to buy a special skillet, but if you don't have one, you can just use one of the skillets that you own. It won't make any major difference to the final result.
Turn the heat up and when the entire surface is warm, put two tablespoons of the batter on the skillet. When it solidifies, your Crepe will be ready and you'll have to remove it from the pan immediately.
Use different toppings and have fun creating your own flavor. Crepes are fantastic topped with chocolate and a scoop of vanilla ice-cream.

Banana Bread

I have been in the United States for nine months, enough time to know how good some American recipes are. I like cupcakes, bagels, brownies, chocolate chip cookies, macaroni and cheese and cheesecakes, but there is something that I could not live without. It's the famous and delicious homemade banana bread. It's one of the easiest things to make, even from scratch, and I think I have a perfect recipe that I recommend everyone tries at least once.
Here is the list of ingredients that you need:
4 bananas, 3 gr of baking soda, 120 gr of butter, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, 200 gr of flour, 6 gr of baking powder, lemon juice, a pinch of salt, 2 eggs, 120 gr of sugar.

Start the recipe by smashing the bananas in a bowl and squishing them with a fork. Add some lemon juice, so they won't turn brown while you mix the other ingredients. In a different bowl, mix sugar and butter with an electric mixer and once you get an homogeneous mixture, add the two eggs and a pinch of salt and keep mixing them together. At this point, you can transfer the bananas to this second bowl, which should be a little bit bigger than the first one, and add the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda and baking powder). Amalgamate your dry ingredients with the banana mixture until well blended and finally add 1/2 of a teaspoon of cinnamon to give a delicate flavor to your banana bread. Put your batter in a ceramic cake pan and bake it for 60 minutes at 350 F.
You can serve it when it's warm or lightly cold, but it's definitely better when it's still warm and soft.
Enjoy!

Piadina Romagnola

In the south-eastern portion of Emilia-Romagna, there is no restaurant that doesn't serve the famous and simple bread/sandwich called Piadina. People from this particular region of Italy are very proud of this recipe and they compete against each other to come up with the best combination of bread and filling. In fact, it has become one of the main dishes that you must try if you visit this area. All you need to make 4 Piadine is five ingredients: 160 mL of water, 2 gr of baking soda, 500 gr of flour, 10 gr of salt and 75 gr of lard. Dissolve the salt in the water and mix the baking soda with the amount of flour. Once you have done that, put everything in a large bowl and start mixing the ingredients for at least ten minutes. When the dough is done, let it rest for thirty minutes covered by a hand towel. Divide the dough into four parts and spread out each one with a rolling pin. After that, you finally get to cook your piadina. Use a non-stick skillet and cook both sides for about 3-4 minutes. You can stuff your piadina with anything. There is nothing that cannot be eaten with this Italian bread. I highly suggest that you try my favorite piadina with prosciutto (cooked ham), stracchino and rocket. I'm sure you won't regret it!

La Torta della Nonna

As an exchange student, one thing that I am supposed to do is share my traditions and culture with my host family and friends. Since I particularly enjoy cooking Italian recipes, which reminds me of the old days spent baking with my Grandma, I often try to impress my family with a dish of home-made pasta or a popular Italian dessert.
As I was going through my Grandma's recipe book the other day, I found something that I personally haven't tried to make yet. It's an easy dessert called "Torta della nonna", which means "Grandma's Cake", and I suggest that everyone tries it as it doesn't require particular cooking skills.
Here is the list of ingredients you need:
For the dough: 200 gr of butter, 4 yolks, a drop of vanilla extract, 400 gr of flour, 150 gr of powdered sugar, a pinch of salt.
For the filling: 80 gr of flour, 1 liter of fresh milk, 6 yolks, 250 gr of sugar, a drop of vanilla extract, half a lemon skin.
Pine nuts and powdered sugar to cover the top at the end.

To make the dough, the directions are very simple. Put the flour, the salt and the butter in a mixer and whip until you get a sandy mixture. Pour it on a cutting board and add the sugar, the yolks and the vanilla extract. Knead the dough until it gets dense. Wrap it in a plastic bag and put it in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
Now, we are ready to make the delicious cream filling. Put the milk and the drop of vanilla extract in a pan and bring to a boil. When it starts boiling, turn down the heat and let it cool. Whip the yolks and the sugar with an electric mixer until you get a thick and foamy mixture. Add one third of the milk and the flour. Keep stirring with the electric mixer. Transfer the cream to the pan that you used to heat up the milk. Bring to a boil again and remember to stir in order not to burn anything. The cream has to be thick and dense.

Take the dough out of the refrigerator and spread it out with a rolling pin. As you can see in these pictures, you have to mold the dough to the pan and pour the batter in it. Once you are done with that, you'll use the rest of the dough to cover your cake. Make sure the dough you use is very thin and make holes in it by using a fork, so the surface doesn't break while cooking.
Spread the pine nuts on top of the cake and bake it for 45-50 minutes at 350 °F.

When it's cooked, let the cake cool completely and before you serve it, put the powdered sugar on top!
It might seem a long process, but I'm sure you all will enjoy eating this "Grandma's cake"! The taste of the cream filling is unsatisfiable.

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