Basically, I often 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. 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. Southeastern Utah wins hands down! 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; hating the pollution, noise, crowds; many are
surprised when I tell them this truth about myself.
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. Seeing a tiny Prius cut off an 18 wheeler with
only a foot to spare speaks to me of having a death wish and not caring who is
taken with the 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 Highway 191 or 491; and the passing lane is a
mile away.
However, we are
pro-economic development, not to the point where the area explodes like Moab,
Telluride, even Flagstaff has done; but to the point where residents don’t have
to worry about lack of employment. To
the point where there are so many benefits for residents, they don’t have to
wonder why their children are leaving the area.
Visitors will be coming and they need amenities; better their monies go
into the coffers of San Juan County’s various towns, then the pockets of
others, is just common sense.
One business I’d
personally love to see develop is Italian based, a combination of restaurant/delicatessen/bakery
which would be a wondrous place to tantalize all the senses. From the bakery alone, the smell of baking
wafts throughout the air, 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 is intoxicating. Of
course if you’ve never experienced such a place, then you don’t truly know what
you’re missing out on.
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 in your area, appreciate it!!! Two
previous articles I’ve written covered Tiramisu and Cheesecake, 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", containing nuts and Amaretto. 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
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
