A sweet tooth's paradise - The Italian Bakery

Basically, I let it be known that the most I miss about the East Coast is the food. Roy and I have discussed the question of "would we ever go back East?" The answer is that it would have to be for a very, very good reason; and we probably wouldn't feel very comfortable. Comparing the wide open spaces of where we live now to the traffic and people congested areas of New York City, Philadelphia and Lancaster...no comparison. Our area wins. Comparing the clean air, the blue sky, the overall feel good feeling to pollution that is quite visible, smells that would make a skunk gag and overall feeling of oppression...no comparison. What did Roy say to me the other day, oh yes, "hun, you may have been a city girl because you lived there, but deep down, you ain't no city girl." He's right, I never was very comfortable living in large city areas.

We did travel up to the Salt Lake City area once, and once was enough. I have driven many of the highways of the East: Long Island Expressway, Belt Parkway, Schuylkill River Parkway, I-95; to just name a few and they didn't bother me. The highways in the Salt Lake City area are terrifying!!! Yeah, if they can scare me, then they must be bad; must be all the pollution because of the Salt Lake; it has eaten holes in the brain of the basic driver. See, that's another reason I like the area we live in now; our version of a traffic jam is three pickup trucks in front of you as you're driving down either Rte 191 or Rte 491; and the passing lane is a mile away.

So what has this all to do with the Italian Bakery, nothing really, I was just venting. Anyway, the Italian Bakery is a wonderous place to tantalize all the senses. The smell of baking, the sight of decorated cakes, the taste of crispy cookies, hearing the workers speak in a romantic language, the feel of a loaf of real Italian bread and the overall feeling of contentment. Little by little I have been learning to recreate recipes from the Italian Bakery; no folks, we don't have such a wonderland in our area. If you do, appreciate it!!!

I'm already quite adept at making Tiramisu and Cheesecakes; and finding a place in Durango, Colorado that sells mascarpone cheese is a big plus.

Now I have decided to tackle cookies, not your typical chocolate chip or sugar cookies, but Italian cookies. The first is a chocolate meringue cookie called "Brutti Ma Buoni" which translates to "ugly but good". The second is a cookie made with ricotta cheese and is basically a simple cake like cookie, not overly sweet and putting a glaze or frosting on them is optional.

Brutti Ma Buoni
(In Italian, it means “ugly but good”; this is a meringue cookie which contains nuts and Amaretto.)

Ingredients:
8 egg whites
1 tsp white vinegar
½ tsp cream of tartar
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp Amaretto
1 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 cup each of chopped hazelnuts and almonds

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350F; lightly butter and flour cookie sheets.

In a large bowl, beat egg whites, vinegar and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Continue to beat, while adding 2 tablespoons at a time of the sugar, until stiff peaks form; beat in the Amaretto.

Gently fold in the cocoa powder and nuts, so as to not deflate the egg whites. Drop, by tablespoon, the mixture onto the cookie sheets; bake for 15-20 minutes; until cookies become firm. Remove to wire racks and let cool.

Makes 3 dozen cookies.

Ricotta Cheese Cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
¼ unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp blackberry preserves
2 eggs
2 cups flour
½ tsp salt
½ tsp baking soda
1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350F.

In a small bowl, cream together the sugar and butter until fluffy; continue to beat in the preserves, then one egg at a time until all are incorporated fully.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, salt and baking soda; add the mixture from the small bowl and mix together well; add the ricotta cheese and mix in fully. The dough will be thick, so can easily be measured out by rounded tablespoons onto nonstick cookie sheets.

Bake for 15-17 minutes or until tops are golden brown; move cookies onto wire racks to cool.

Makes 4 dozen cookies.

The cookies have a mild sweetness at first, but intensify as eaten. However, a glaze can be spread onto the cookies and sprinkles added immediately before it sets.

Recipe for Glaze
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
3 Tbsp warm milk

Mix together until it becomes a spreadable consistency.

Makes enough to cover 4 dozen cookies.

Mary Cokenour

I don’t miss the East coast, just the food.

For the first 50 years of my life, I lived in New York and Pennsylvania; probably already said this a couple of times, but just in case…

Sure, I miss my family and the few close friends I have out there, but the locations themselves…not at all. I don’t miss the overbuilt residential areas, or the numerous strip malls with half empty storefronts. I don’t miss wondering if someone was going to crash into my car every time I went to the grocery store, work, or wherever I was headed to. I most certainly don’t miss sitting in the ever constant traffic jams, not just on highways, but on the city roads themselves. I don’t miss the noise, the dirt, the skies so polluted that they were a sickly green-blue; nor the stench that was also ever present in the air.

No, I don’t miss the East coast at all; but I do miss the food. Italian bakeries with delectable desserts and pastries; Chinese restaurants with an unending variety; Italian and Jewish delis with a vast selection of meats, cheeses and breads. I miss the Farmers’ markets where you could buy anything and everything; all fresh. All the wonderful food stuffs that cannot be purchased in supermarkets out here in the Southwest, or if you can, they cost an arm and 2 ½ legs. Or, there are online sites that can ship the items to you in 1-2 days, and most of the prices are not unreasonable; but the shipping costs will force you to get a loan at the local bank or credit union.

I miss the food…oh to have a potato knish, crispy outside, soft mashed potatoes inside with spicy brown mustard; or a Sabrett hotdog covered in that wonderful spicy onion sauce; real country sausage from the Farmers’ market, grilled and it snaps when you bite into it. This could make a person cry, but I’ll hold back for now; don’t want to get the keyboard wet.

I am learning to do without for certain recipes, or how to create or use substitutes; while good, it’s still not the same. One of these items is mascarpone cheese which I often used for making desserts like cheesecake or tiramisu’; but I’ve learned to make a close substitute. So, for those of you who have wanted to try mascarpone, or, like me, cannot find it, here’s a substitute recipe, and a dessert that can be made with it…Tiramisu’.

Mascarpone Cheese
Mascarpone originated in the area between Lodi and Abbiategrasso, Italy, southwest of Milan, probably in the late 16th or early 17th century. It is a fresh, very rich cow’s milk cheese; double or triple cream (60% to 75% milk fat). Its texture resembles a sticky pudding and it is the color of cream. While it is widely used in desserts, such as the Italian cake called Tiramisù; it can be used in a variety of recipes. In Italy, a favorite preparation is savory, mixing the cheese with anchovies, mustard and spices as a spread for breads. By itself, it can be served as an enhancement for fruits, coffee or cocoa; or added to such Italian dishes like lasagna, stuffed shells or manicotti.

While it can be purchased in stores or online, it can also be pricey. However, there is a way to make a suitable substitute.

Substitute for Mascarpone Cheese
Combine 16 oz. softened cream cheese, ½ cup heavy whipping cream and 5 Tbsp. sour cream; mix thoroughly until smooth and creamy.

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Tiramisu’
A classic Italian cake made with mascarpone cheese and lady fingers. This is a layered dessert which could be compared to an English Trifle.

Ingredients:
3 large eggs, separate yolks and whites
½ cup sugar plus ½ tsp
1 cup espresso coffee, cooled
2 Tbsp cognac or brandy
16 oz mascarpone cheese**
1/8 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
60 lady fingers, toasted

Preparation:
In a large mixing bowl, combine egg yolks, 1 Tbsp espresso, ½ cup sugar and liquor. Use mixer to beat ingredients together for 2 minutes; add cheese and beat until mixture is smooth.

In another bowl, combine egg whites with ½ tsp sugar; beat on high with mixer until egg whites can hold a peak. Gently fold the egg whites into the cheese mixture.

Pour remaining espresso into a rimmed dish; lightly dip the lady fingers into the espresso, making sure to coat both sides. On the bottom of a 2 qt round dessert bowl, place 15 of the lady fingers (rounded side down), put another 15 (rounded side outward) around the sides of the bowl. Begin layering by spreading 1/3 of the cheese mixture on top of the lady fingers on bottom of the bowl, 15 lady fingers (rounded side upward), 1/3 of mixture, final 15 of lady fingers (rounded side upward), final 1/3 of cheese mixture. Sprinkle the cocoa powder over the final cheese layer.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Makes 8-10 servings.

** If mascarpone cheese is not available, create a substitute by mixing together 16 oz. softened cream cheese, ½ cup heavy whipping cream and 5 Tbsp. sour cream until smooth and creamy.

Mary Cokenour