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Italian tips for Pizza: My Granny’s secrets in the kitchen; let’s start a new section on the blog.

cuocheinvacanza — Wed, 13 Dec 2017 15:16:23 +0000

What about an original Italian Pizza directly at your home for dinner?

I’d like to start today a new section: Grandma’s secrets and tips.

Everyone knows the important role that my Granny run in my life and my wish to pass down her tips during our cooking classes too…so why don’t write her secrets?

In addiction to this, my mum made me a beautiful gift; an italian book with all the important tips we must know when cooking.

I know we live in a fast world and traditions and customs are disappearing, but I always meet people (in cooking classes and in private dinners as well) who want to know more about italian food and the way to prepare it and they’re always interested in authentic experiences.

That’s why I wish to share with you these secrets and tips, not only because we face “kitchen” and food everyday, but to share and pass down some authentic folk wisdom.

Let’s start with some tips about something tipically italian!

TIPS for PIZZA, BREAD, FOCACCIA

More time you let that Pizza dough rises, better is. Anyway, to check if it’s at the right point: put a small ball of dough in a glass with cold water, if it resurfaces, the dough is ready to be stretched, stuffed and baked.
You should pull the Pizza dough on the pastry board and not directly over the baking tray. Because of a gluten reaction, in fact it tends to shrink during the cooking.
Pizza dough inevitably shrinks a bit when transferred on the baking tray; but if you grease the baking tray with butter instead oil, you’ll avoid that it shrinks already before the cooking.
While kneading the dough of a pizza (or Focaccia), don’t use just the water. If you want it more digestible, add an infusion made with rosemary or oregano.
You’re going to read a very precious secret from my Granny. I can assure you that if you follow it you’ll obtain the most delicious bread, focaccia and pizza as well. When my Grandma moved into a new home she hadn’t a wood-fired oven, but just an electric one; she strove a lot and made many tests to have the same amazing pizza she made with the wood-fired oven. At the end she arrived in what is a very good solution that’ll give you a real success and an authentic flavor to your pizza &Co: buy a rectangular piece of marble (the black one is the best); it has to be 2cm high at least and big enough to stay in the baking tray of your oven. Heat the electric oven to maximum waiting that the marble be very hot; you can cook your pizza or bread directly over this surface and you‘ll obtain a flavor very very similar to the real Italian pizza made by a wood-fired oven.
Are you interested in “The Perfect Pizza” Recipe? Want to know all the right steps to obtain it? CLICK HERE and you’ll read a very very interesting post.

Is there some new trick that you know for making pizza?

Please leave a comment, I’ll answer you asap!

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What to do in Tuscany: authentic experiences with Cuoche in Vacanza

Erika Elia — Fri, 03 Feb 2017 13:36:18 +0000

What to do in Tuscany?

This question is often asked me from my students in cooking classes or guests-customers in private dinners and cooking at home.

I think that the best is to look for authentic experiences. Tuscany is wonderful, and you can decide to follow the standard touristic tours in the most famous towns: Lucca, Pisa, San Gimignano, Siena, Florence. Anyway don’t forget that if you’re living around these towns there are so many “adventures” to live which are very authentic and can give you the real sense of enjoing a holiday in Tuscany.

Well, what to do in Tuscany? the best authentic experiences are of course related wit food:

taking a COOKING CLASS. Better if a Private one: professional cooking coaches which directly come to your holiday home to run a real Tuscan cooking class.

Cuoche in Vacanza is an 8 years experienced company that you can CONTACT to have right this.

What to do in Tuscany during a Cooking Class? Fresh Handmade Pasta! No doubt.

Be careful: a cookery course in Tuscany has now become a fashion and you risk to have at your Villa some people (not professional) who can stay much more time than promised and miss some important ingredients for your class. In many cases you risk of getting bored because of long downtime between preparations. Only a many years experience from your cooking coach can guarantee a perfect management of time, learning and fun.

Are you curious about our Cookery Courses in Tuscany experiences? Watch the VIDEO clicking here

What to do in Tuscany? Eat dishes that you can’t imagine and you’ll never find in a restaurant.

A Private Cook at your holiday home. It’s not only not to taste touristic menus, it’s the opportunity to eat like a local, like a Tuscan family.

Please CONTACT us to watch our Menus: only quality, fresh and seasonal ingredients, local produce.

This is a way to taste all the Tuscan and Italian dishes often different from those ones of restaurants.

Added to this you choose your time and stay comfortably at your home, avoiding queues and waiting times, while kids can do whatever they like.

Be careful: some people pretend to be cooks just to make money from the touristic business. They have no passion for quality food (I’d say for the land of Tuscany) and come to your home after buying food at the takeways or, at worst, they buy to the supermarkets food ready to be heated.

How to avoid this?

Check that they prepare every course by scratch, dessert included
Be sure that they’ll come to your holiday home about 2,30 hours before dinner (a shorter time is often impossible for a full menu)

The reasons above bring to a choice:

Prepare genuine, but high quality food. Obviously not complicated desserts needing minimum 1 day rest time or to be frozen for many hours before tasting.
To focus on what is fresh and homemade. That’s why Cuoche in Vacanza are mad about Fresh Pasta and they’ll prepare it by scratch before your eyes!

Are you curious about our dishes and experiences in Cooking at Home or Private Dinners? Watch the video clicking here

The Region of Tuscany is not only famous for its food. If you’re looking for what to do in Tuscany, don’t miss the opportunity to enjoy: Nature, landscapes and woods… they are fantastic!

Our suggestion about what to do in Tuscany in this regard is

Nature Trail and Gathering Edible Herbs

Discovering and Cooking Wild Herbs in Tuscany is a real authentic experience followed by many tuscan people as well.

If you like walking and Nature, don’t miss the opportunity of a pleasant walk in the unspoiled Tuscan Nature with CuocheinVacanza and a Herbalist.

You’ll enjoy an unknown Pisa Countryside where

to recognize and distinguish the herbs we meet along the way
to collect herbs and to create a Menu with herbs and flowers collected
to arrive to an old country stone-house among the olive trees where we’ll cook herbs and enjoy the meal together

Are you curious about wild edible herbs trail and cooking?

Click HERE to know more and read an article by Cathy Wilson

Do you think this post has been helpful?

What kind of authentic experiences would you like having in Tuscany?

Any suggestion for us?

Do you already know what to do in Tuscany but you don’t know how?

Please leave us a Comment below or contact us, I’ll answer you very quickly!

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Tuscany Cooking Vacation with an amazing Tagliata (Italian for sliced steak) as main course

Erika Elia — Fri, 22 Jan 2016 15:02:49 +0000

Amazing Tagliata!

A beloved dish among my customers when they opt for a private chef experience or a private cooking class on their home vacation.

I’d like to tell you today about one of the most requested main courses that you can find in our Menus for Private Dinners: Tagliata (the Italian word for sliced steak).

The last time that I prepared it was for a large family group, near Terricciola, a nice village here in Tuscany. Our customers chose the Menu, we did the shopping, and went directly to their holiday homes to cook for them. The self-catering villa was perfect, with a large and well-equipped kitchen (anyway we can bring many tools and we need just a sink, a fridge, a stove and of course a table).

When we arrived, from the dirt road, we saw our guests while having a dip in the beautiful swimming pool; there was an atmosphere full of joy and laughs and indeed we were about to meet special people with whom we became friends and we’re still keeping in touch.

These guests came from Oslo and they loved the amazing Tagliata and our way of preparing it.

tagliata, tuscany cooking vacation

After many years (exactly 15) of working for tourists coming from all over the world, I can say that everyone likes it, whether English or American, Norwegian or Australian.

This Amazing Tagliata features succulent slices of grilled beef, seasoned to perfection, delivering an explosion of taste in every bite.

private dinners, cooking at home, chef in Tuscany

Some suggestions to taste an amazing Tagliata to its best:

First of all the meat cut:

I strongly suggest using sirloin (or entrecote), in my opinion, it’s suitable for Tagliata for 3 reasons:

It’s without bone (you’re not going to prepare a Fiorentina Steak)
It has a thickness of about 2 inches (4 or 5 cm) and with medium fire cooking, this allows the meat to maintain its liquids and to be pink and very soft inside
the sirloin (unlike the fillet) is covered with a layer of fat that melts into the meat and make it juicy, tender, and tasteful

Another suggestion for cooking: it’s very important to maintain a medium heat (no sudden changes in heat)

Beef Tagliata is surely good if wood-fired grilled, but it’s difficult not to have some sudden changes in heat with fire. If you’ll follow my suggestions and steps, you’ll obtain a delicious dish just with a plate for grilling, your stove, and your wish to delight the palate of your family and friends.

During Summer, with my team of CuocheinVacanza, here in Tuscany (Central Italy), we prepare many kinds of Tagliata for our guests. We go directly to their holiday homes and we cook the Menu that they chose for their Private Lunch or Dinner.

tagliata, chef at home, private dinners, Tuscany

You can accompany Beef Tagliata in many typically Tuscan ways:

with Porcini mushrooms
with Artichokes
with Rosemary
with Aubergines
with Rucola, Parmesan, and a Balsamic Vinegar Reduction…that’s what we’re going to do now

Tagliata (Tuscan sliced steak)

Recipe by Erika Elia (CuocheinVacanza.com)

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds and 1 1/4 inches thick Beef meat: sirloin
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 pinches of coarse sea salt
to taste freshly ground pepper
4 oz Italian parmesan cut in slivers
4 tbsp balsamic vinegar reduction
2 cups arugula

Instructions

Pre-heat a plate for grilling, and a cast-iron skillet on medium fire. When, after throwing a few drops of water on the pan, these turn away like mercury, the pan is hot enough.
Sprinkle with salt on the plate for grilling and put the meat on it.
Don’t touch the steak and wait until the edge of the steak, starting from the bottom, has become grey (about 5 minutes).
Meanwhile, dip a cutting board in very hot water (I pour boiling water into the closed sink).
Flip the steak using meat tongs (don’t pierce the beef) and wait until the color grey is all over the edge (about 4 minutes; anyway about 1 minute less than the first time).
Flip the beef again and wait about 1/2 minute for the side to brown all the meat.
To do quickly:
Dry the cutting board (still warm) with kitchen paper.
Turn off the heat and quickly wrap the meat in aluminum foil.
Lay the wrapped meat over the cutting board and wait about 5 minutes; it continues to cook.
Remove the aluminum foil and slice into 1/2 inch thick.
Set the slices over a serving tray.
Season with salt, pepper, and oil.
Put the arugula all over the meat and season again with salt, pepper, and oil.
Sprinkle with parmesan cut in slivers.
Pour from the top the balsamic vinegar reduction (soon the recipe!)
Enjoy it!

private dinners, Norwegian tourists, private chefs, Tuscany, holiday

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Tuscan Cooking Class: Homemade Ricotta Cheese Gnocchi… a perfect Italian meal after Christmas Holidays!

Erika Elia — Wed, 13 Jan 2016 20:10:53 +0000

Days of fire here in Tuscany… in every country as well, I suppose: Christmas’s gone, the last day of the year’s gone…our tummies are full!

If you’re living my situation and you invited a lots of people at your table before, during and after Christmas…maybe you’ll need to sleep (first of all) and to manage “these days after” the party as well.

Organization is a must, but first of all: it needs to prepare quick and easy dishes for the days coming after the big (in Italy for sure) Christmas lunch.

Since I can’t go far from the genuinity, something homemade and local ingredients…I think that I’ll prepare some Ricotta Cheese Gnocchi: they’re very fast, light (did you know this?) and a traditional Tuscan favorite!

Delicate, soft but not too much, amazing if you use freshly grated Parmigiano cheese.

You can season them with:

Butter and Sage
Pummarola Sauce (Tomato, Garlic and Basil)
Mushrooms Sauce
Pesto Sauce
Sea fruit sauce
you name it…

Homemade Ricotta Gnocchi

is one of CuocheinVacanza‘s most requested private cooking classes :

parents and children or honeymooners, often choose a hands on cookery course where everyone can enjoy rolling and cutting fresh pasta and than enjoy the fruits of its labour.

You too can try to make this easy and fast dish, sure that you’ll wow your friends and family as they tasted these delicate but tasteful Gnocchi.

You need just half an hour of your precious time, giving the impression to have prepared a light, worthy of a gourmet meal.

Here’s the recipe, all for you!

Homemade Ricotta Gnocchi

4 servings

Ingredients:

for Gnocchi

14 oz Ricotta Cheese
6-8 oz Flour
1 Egg
2 oz Parmesan cheese, grated

for the Sauce

3 tbs unsalted Butter
8 sage leaves
salt and pepper

Cooking Directions:

Drain the Ricotta on a coliander and put it in a bowl
Add the parmesan and the egg and start to stir with a spatula
Add the flour, slowly; stirring with the spatula until fully incorporated. You’ve to obtain a dough that doesn’t stick at your fingers. If you see it’s still very moist, add another spoon of flour or more, until it’s not.
Put the dough over a floured surface and shape an oval
Cut this dough in 4 or 5 pieces
Take each piece and start to roll it over the floured surface to form a long sausage, about 2 cm thick and long more than you can
Cut with a knife or a “Gnocchi cutter” this sausage in pieces long about 2 cm and place them over a floured sheet tray.
Put the butter in a pan and, when it’s fully melted, add the sage leaves (clean but dry)
When the leaves change color (a sort of dark grey), it means they’re crispy. Switch off the heat. Take off the leaves from the pan and put them in a cup
Put a pot of water (about 3 liters), on the stove and bring to boil, add 1/2 oz of salt
Take a slotted spoon (in Italy we call it “schiumarola”)
When the water is boiling add the Gnocchi
Wait about 2 or 3 minutes. When the Gnocchi float, they’re ready;
Remove them from pot with your slotted spoon, put over a tray and season with the butter
Top with the crispy leaves and some grated parmesan as well

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Cooking at home in Tuscany: #Meatloaf Florentine Style. An old, mouthwatering dish to impress yuor guests!

Erika Elia — Sat, 21 Feb 2015 07:22:00 +0000

Here is Meatloaf Florentine style, a typical italian dish that all my students appreciate and ask me how preparing.

And I’m very keen to put it in Cuoche in Vacanza cookery courses.

Reading here and there in the historical notebooks about Italian and Tuscan cuisine, I found that meatloaf was born in 1300, and then it was developed in 1700 as “chopped meat, mixed with cheese, pine nuts, raisins, spices, breadcrumbs, egg whites”; in 1800 the use of spices, pine nuts and raisins (used by the upper classes), was left to address this dish to the tables of the middle class or the lower classes.

In fact the history of meatloaf leaves no doubt: it is a dish from poor and rural; it’s the King of leftovers.

How to forget my grandmothers who, after the rich lunches and dinners during festivity time or simply with many guests, grinded up the leftover roasted or boiled meat, took a couple of eggs from the hen house and proceeded to mix all the available ingredients; sometimes adding boiled potatoes, sometimes bread soaked in milk.
As a child I watched the slices of meatloaf in the dish with eyes full of greed and mouthering, the same happy look that I’m seeing today through the eyes of my daughters, who love this dish in all its variations.

And in fact this is the highlight of the meatloaf: you can prepare it in many and varied ways, just like the meatballs (find the recipe here)

I remember my grandmother pouring the sauce for the meatloaf from top to bottom, with a large wooden spoon, it was amazing for me because I realized that every time it had a different flavor, but always delicious.

The weaknesses and difficulties in preparing the meatloaf are essentially two:

unless the meat is well mixed (with whole eggs or egg whites) it could be not compact and tend to break
if you cook it too much, tends to dry and then “farewell” to what, in my opinion, is the most valuable quality of meatloaf: juiciness and softness.

What ingredients for the meatloaf?

with cooked meat
with bread soaked in milk
with boiled potatoes
with raw meat
with tomato sauce
with ragu sauce (if it is only made of potatoes or bread)
with “garden” sauce (that one of the below recipe). The sauce’ll be more creamy as you use more veg quantity

What I am introducing today is my favorite meatloaf, namely:

my version “Florentine Meatloaf” (starting from raw meat).

Inside the “meatball” we’re going to mold, is introduced a boiled egg, so that it will appear in the center of the slice of meatloaf, providing a treat to the eyes.
It is a easy dish which success is assured and Artusi yet taked about it in his book: The Science in the kitchen and the Art of eating well.

I revisited this recipe, substantially, in the cooking mode: wrapping the meat in parchment paper, which will be removed when meatloaf is almost cooked.

My friend +Maria Furnari wrote to me: “Help me please! Meatballs and Meatloaf are my weak point in cooking, give me some advice and public the recipe asap”.

Well, here is the recipe Mary, it is for you and all my students who like to learn how to cook Italian, from abroad, under the guidance of a Tuscan doc cooking classes trainer like me.

Do not hesitate to write to me, to ask me questions, I always replied to all with great pleasure!

MEATLOAF FLORENTINE STYLE

Recipe by Erika Elia (Cuoche in Vacanza.it)

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Total time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

1 lbveal minced meat
2 stalkscelery
1onion
2carrots
2 ozextra virgin olive oil
1 ozunsalted butter
1 egg
1 boiled egg
to tastesalt
to tastepepper
2 handfulsflour
1 ozparmesan
2 papersbaking paper

Cooking Directions

Clean and mince all the veg (very thin)
put in a pot with 2 tbs of oil and 1 oz butter and wait until soft
Pour into a bowl the minced meat
salt and pepper
1 whole egg
the parmesan
knead all together
shape the meat into a loaf
place the peeled hard boiled egg in the middle of the meat
mold the loaf
moinsten your hands
flour it well
wrap the loaf in a sheet of baking paper lengthwise and then with another paper widthwise
twist the ends to seal what inside
lay this “pack” on the sauce
stir 1 tbs of flour in half cup of water
pour it in the pot and cover
let it simmer over a low fire for about 15 minutes
add some water if veg become brown (they’d be creamy)
turn off the fire
take off the pack from the pot and put in over a cuttingboard
remove the baking paper
pour 2 tbs of oil and 1 oz of butter in a pan
put the loaf in the pan and brown it on all sides
turn off the fire
cut the loaf in slices and pour over them (from top to bottom) the veggie creamy sauce very hot

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Cuocheinvacanza.it Archivi • Cooking Classes and Private Chef In Tuscany

Italian tips for Pizza: My Granny’s secrets in the kitchen; let’s start a new section on the blog.

Is there some new trick that you know for making pizza?

Please leave a comment, I’ll answer you asap!

What to do in Tuscany: authentic experiences with Cuoche in Vacanza

taking a COOKING CLASS. Better if a Private one: professional cooking coaches which directly come to your holiday home to run a real Tuscan cooking class.

A Private Cook at your holiday home. It’s not only not to taste touristic menus, it’s the opportunity to eat like a local, like a Tuscan family.

The Region of Tuscany is not only famous for its food. If you’re looking for what to do in Tuscany, don’t miss the opportunity to enjoy: Nature, landscapes and woods… they are fantastic!

Nature Trail and Gathering Edible Herbs

Tuscany Cooking Vacation with an amazing Tagliata (Italian for sliced steak) as main course

Amazing Tagliata!

This Amazing Tagliata features succulent slices of grilled beef, seasoned to perfection, delivering an explosion of taste in every bite.

Some suggestions to taste an amazing Tagliata to its best:

Another suggestion for cooking: it’s very important to maintain a medium heat (no sudden changes in heat)

Recipe by Erika Elia (CuocheinVacanza.com)

Ingredients

Instructions

Tuscan Cooking Class: Homemade Ricotta Cheese Gnocchi… a perfect Italian meal after Christmas Holidays!

Homemade Ricotta Gnocchi

Cooking at home in Tuscany: #Meatloaf Florentine Style. An old, mouthwatering dish to impress yuor guests!