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Italian Easter Pie: Torta di Pasqua

Torta di Pascua

Puff pastry or pie dough, enough to line and cover an 11-inch pie-plate

3 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 lbs. of ricotta cheese, well-strained to remove all liquid (setting the ricotta cheese in a strainer over a bowl overnight is best)

1/2 lb. mild or hot Italian sausage, sliced and lightly fried in olive oil

8 to 10 slices of prosciutto ham, coarsely chopped

1/2 lb. of diced mozzarella cheese

2 tablespoons of chopped or dried parsley

Freshly ground pepper, and salt, to taste

One egg-yolk and one tablespoon of water for glaze

Prepare your pastry. Beat the eggs into the ricotta cheese, and add the rest of the ingredients. Roll out the pastry or pie dough, and line the pie-pan with one-half of it. Pour filling into the dough-lined pan, and lay the rest of your dough on top of it, sealing, trimming, and crimping the edges. Brush the top with an egg-yolk mixed with a tablespoon of water. Make pretty slits in the top of the crust, and bake in a moderately hot 350* oven for forty-five minutes to an hour, until the top of Easter Pie is golden. Serve Torta di Pasqua either warm or at room temperature. This recipe serves 8 people.

~~Copyright M-J de Mesterton

Buttermilk Biscuits, a Surprisingly Good Accompaniment to Dinner

M-J’s Buttermilk Biscuits

3 cups of white or unbleached white flour

3 teaspoons of baking powder

One teaspoon of salt (I use Himalayan salt)

1 and 1/4 cups of buttermilk

One stick of butter (1/2 cup)

1/2 cup of lard (manteca)

1/2 cup of flour for working dough on the counter

¼ cup of melted butter and lard for brushing layers—composed of equal parts of each

Arrange bits of butter and lard over the 3 cups of flour in a large bowl. Toss butter and lard with flour, baking powder and salt. Cut the fats into the dry ingredients, and add a tablespoon of cold water, mixing until the dough looks like a bunch of small peas. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Put into refrigerator for about ten minutes. Remove to counter again and incorporate the buttermilk, mixing gently. 2. Turn dough out onto your counter, which has been dusted with flour. Gently knead the biscuit dough 3 or 4 times, adding a bit of extra flour if necessary. With floured hands, form dough into a rectangular shape, about ½ inch thick. Brush dough with a bit of your melted fat mixture, and dust it with flour. Fold dough over onto itself. Roll it out into a new rectangle, brush again with melted fat and dust with flour. Repeat the last two steps once more. Cut 3/4 inch high dough into biscuits with a small glass or my favorite, an empty, clean  tomato paste can. If you are using the biscuits for canapes, roll the dough 1/2 inch thick. Brush tops with melted fat. These layered biscuits are easy to crack open and fill with marmalade or, if one uses them as canapes, various meats. To make a croissant biscuit, cut the dough, which has been flattened to 1/8 inch, four inches wide and brush with melted fat as above. Roll and pinch ends together.

Bake biscuits in a pre-heated 450° oven until they are lightly browned.

Serve with chicken dishes of all kinds; these biscuits also complement beef and pork. If you have company for breakfast, making these fresh biscuits is sure to be appreciated, especially if served with a selection of jams, jellies and marmalade.

M-J's Buttermilk Biscuits

M-J de Mesterton, 2009

M-J's Buttermilk Biscuits with Sausage Patties

Recipe and Photo Copyright M-J de Mesterton 2009

U.S. and U.K. Equivalents in Cooking (Cookery) Terminology

By Guest Author, Gwydion (Dyfed Lloyd Evans)

US and UK Cookery Terms

In designing, writing and constructing a recipe website I have come across a large number of differences in terms of language uses between British and American cookery terms.

Of course, the units are different (whether in terms of cups, imperial units or metric) but the terms used for certain foods and for many cookery terms and ingredients also differ. This can make interpreting American recipes (if you’re British) or interpreting British recipes (if you’re American) difficult. This glossary provides a conversion for these terms (going from UK to US in this instance).

UK Term	US Term
aubergine	eggplant
bap	hamburger bun
baking sheet/baking tray	cooking sheet
barbecue	grill or outdoor grill
beetroot	beet
biscuit (sweet)	cookie
biscuit (savoury)	cracker
broad bean	fava/lima bean
cake mixture	cake batter
cake tin	tube pan
casserole	dutch oven/casserole
caster sugar	superfine granulated
chicory	endive
chickpeas	garbanzo beans
chilli	chili
chips	french fries
chocolate/sweets	candy
chocolate, plain	semisweet/bittersweet/unsweetened
cling film	plastic wrap
cooker	stove
cornflour	cornstarch
corn on the cob	ears sweetcorn
courgette	zucchini
cream, double	heavy or whipping cream
cream, single	light cream or half-and-half
crisps	potato chips
filo pastry	phyllo
fish slice	spatula
flaked almonds	slivered almonds
flour, light plain	cake flour
flour, plain	all-purpose flour
fool	creamy fruit dessert
French bean	green bean
frying pan	skillet
glacé	candied
golden syrup	use light corn syrup or 50% molasses, 50% water
grated	shredded
green pepper	bell pepper/sweet pepper
grill (verb)	broil
hob	range
ice/icing	frost/frosting
icing sugar	confectioners sugar, powdered sugar
jam	jelly
jelly (in the UK, a jelly is also a strained set jam that does not have fruit bits in it)	jello
Jerusalem artichokes	sunchokes
joint (of meat)	roast
ketchup	catchup
kitchen towels	kitchen paper, paper towels
kipper	smoked herring
lettuce (loose-leaved)	Boston lettuce
mangetout	snow peas
mince/minced meat	ground (meat) or hamburger meat
milk (skimmed)	skim milk
milk, semi-skimmed	2% milkfat
pear, conference	bosc pear
pine kernels	pine nuts
pips	seeds
pitta	pita
prawns	shrimp
pudding	dessert
rasher (of bacon)	slice
rind	peel
rocket	arugula
semolina	cream of wheat
sieve	sift
sorbet	sherbet
spring onion	scallion
stock	broth, stock
stock cube	bouillon cube
stoned	seeded or pitted
sultanas	golden raisins
swede	turnip/rutabaga
Swiss roll	jelly roll
Tabasco sauce	hot-pepper sauce
tea towel	kitchen towel
tin (baking/roasting/loaf/cake)	pan
treacle	molasses
tomato passata	tomato sauce (slightly thicker than passata)
tomato puree	tomato paste
vanilla pod	vanilla bean
wholemeal	whole-wheat
yellow courgette	yellow straight neck squash

Whichever side of the Atlantic you’re from, this guide should, hopefully, make it easier for you to understand recipes from across the waters.

About the Author

Dyfed Lloyd Evans runs the Celtnet Recipes site as well as the Celtnet Articles Repository. His quest for recipes has led him all over the world and he has redacted and converted recipes from many languages and cultures, both ancient and modern.

Article Source: Celtnet Articles Author: gwydion

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Pork Chops Esterhazy, or Côtes de Porc Esterhazy

A relative made this for me long ago. It was delicious! Here is my adaptation of the classic dish:

Pork Chops Esterhazy, or Côtes de Porc Esterhazy

2	lb	6 Center-Cut Loin Pork Chops
2	tbsps.	Vegetable Oil (corn or peanut oils are fine)
1/3	cup	Carrots, chopped
1/3	cup	Celery, chopped
1/2	cup	Onions, chopped
1	tbsp	Garlic, minced
1/2	tsp	Thyme
1	one	Bay leaf
2-3	tbsps	of Dried or Fresh Parsley
3/4	cup	Dry White Wine
1/2	cup	Chicken Broth
2	tbsps	Tomato Paste
1	tsp	Dijon Mustard
3/4	cup	Sour Cream
1/4	cup	Capers, drained

Method :

• 1. Heat the oil in a large skillet large enough to hold the chops in one layer. Add the chops and cook until golden brown on both sides, about 5 min.
• 2. Scatter the carrots, celery, onion, garlic, thyme, bayleaf and parsley around the chops. Cover and cook 10 min.
• 3. Blend the wine, chicken broth and tomato paste and add to the skillet. Cover closely and cook about 25 min. longer, turning the chops once.
• 4. Remove the chops and keep hot.
• Add the mustard and sour cream to the skillet and stir. Bring just to a boil, but do not boil or the sour cream will curdle. Put the sauce through a fine sieve, pressing down with a wooden spoon to extract the liquid flavorings from the vegetables.
• 5. Pour the sauce into a saucepan and add the capers. Reheat gently without boiling.
• 6. Spoon the sauce over the chops.
• This is a wonderful dinner party dish. Serve with rice or noodles on the side.