Say it with a Kiss! - Valentine's Day in Italy

San Valentino is also known in Italy as the "festa degli innamorati" (feast of those who love each other).

Unlike in America, this is not a day that children, family members and friends celebrate,  it is a day in which lovers and couples celebrate their love for each other by going out to eat in romantic places and exchanging gifts.

Typical gifts are flowers, chocolates and sometimes jewelry.

The most common chocolate that is sold and bought especially around this time of the year (but also throughout) is produced by Perugina, a world class chocolate producer. The name of this chocolate is Baci, a word that means "kisses". They are chocolates with a delicious center of gianduja (chocolate, nougat and ground hazelnuts) on top of which sits a whole hazelnut. The whole thing is then covered in dark chocolate and wrapped in a silver foil star-strewn wrapper.

There is also a modern version of the traditional Baci, the white Baci, covered in white chocolate and wrapped in blue foil. Both versions contain a sweet love note written in several languages for everybody to enjoy.

I love this chocolate so much that I tried to make my own version at home. The results are actually better (at least in my opinion) than the real thing. In case you want to try, here is the recipe :

Homemade Baci

Ingredients:

Part A)
150 g (5.30 oz) high quality milk chocolate
100 g (3.50 oz) toasted hazelnuts cut into small pieces
38 toasted whole hazelnuts
100 g (3.50 oz) confectioner sugar
4 TBsp heavy whipping cream

 Part B)
 200 g (7 oz) high quality dark chocolate

Instructions :
1. Melt milk chocolate and add ingredients in part A.
2. Chill the mass in the freezer for 20 minutes.
3. Create balls and add one hazelnut on top of each ball.
4. Melt and temper dark chocolate and cover each ball with it.
5. Let them set.

Enjoy!

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We wish you all a wonderful week, filled with LOVE!

Check out our other blog articles delicately crafted for Valentine's Day :

- Decadent desserts for Valentine's Day

- Gorgeous Valentine's Day Treasuries created by SPST members

- For me, LOVE is... -- Your definitions of Love


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PRESENTED TO YOU BY OUR LEADER:  

Hello, I am an Italian from Venice, but my husband's military job assignment brought me to the US to live. I teach full time for a visual and performing arts high school. I have lots of talented students.  My talent is jewelry making. I love making jewelry. In particular I like to use authentic Murano glass that I buy from my master beadmakers every summer when I go home to visit my folks. Lately I have been experimenting with semiprecious gemstones and wire. It's fun. I have been creating my pieces for about ten years and have placed many of them in good homes all over the world. www.etsy.com/shop/venetianmemories

Valentine's Day Recipes

Dear Readers,

Tomorrow is a special day. VALENTINE'S DAY.  I think we all bought a special gift for the ONE.
We invite you to the kitchen with this post. Special favor, beautiful serving:) You can try to make our gorgeous desserts.

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Natalie's favorite:

MOKA MOUSSE

Ingredients :
6 oz -- Dark Chocolate
2 -- egg yolks
500ml -- heavy cream
1/4 cup -- sugar
1/4 cup -- espresso (or very strong coffee)
2 tbsp -- Grand Marnier

1. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler.
2. Whip the cream until it is very firm. Refrigerate.
3. With a mixer, beat the egg yolks and sugar until pale and creamy.
4. Add the coffee, the melted chocolate and the liquor to the egg mixture, and beat until smooth.
5. Add the whipped cream to the chocolate mixture and fold gently with a spatula.
6. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving.

Exquisite with delicate waffle cookies or fresh fruit! Enjoy! :D

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Tara shows us:
a delicious PUDDING PIE recipe. She makes it with a pink coconut garnish on top for Valentine's Day.

Mix in a sauce pan: 2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teas. salt
2 1/2 tbls. cornstarch
3 cups milk
Cook over moderate heat stirring constantly till mix thickens and boils for one minute. Remove from heat, slowly stir 1/2 of mixture into 3 slightly beaten egg yolks.
Blend mixture with eggs back into pan and boil one more minute, stir constantly. Remove from heat, blend in 1 tbls. butter, 1 1/2 teas. vanilla and 2 cups of shredded coconut then pour into pre-baked pie shell.
Garnish the edges of the pie with shredded coconut you have made pink with just a little red food coloring. You can also make a heart of the pink coconut in the middle of the pie. Chill completely before serving.

Here is a link on how to make roses from strawberries:
www.spendwithpennies.com/how-to-make-strawberry-roses/

This Strawberry Rose looks fantastic!!!!

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Amy's Baked DEVIL'S FLOAT ( Aka Killer Brownies)

These are so good!!!! They have chocolate sauce that oozes out the center of the brownie.

1 C flour
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 C sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 Tbsp. cocoa
1/2 C milk
1 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbsp. melted butter
1/2 C chopped nuts ( optional)

Combine dry ingredients. Add milk, vanilla, butter and nuts. Pour into a greased 8 inch square pan; or 7 x 11 pan.

Sauce:
1/2 C sugar
1/2 C brown sugar
5 Tbsp. cocoa
1 C hot water

Combine sugars, cocoa, and hot water. Stir to form sauce. Pour over ingredients in pan. Bake 40 minutes at 350 degrees. Serve with whipped cream.

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Last but not least an other Strawberry Recipe from Ildi:

CHOCOLATE COVERED STRAWBERRIES

This is very easy and quick dessert. In Europe you can buy fruit covered with chocolate at the markets and at the special chocolate shops:) You can make it at home less than 1o minutes.

You need fresh strawberry (this is delicious with other fruit, like pineapple, banana, apple...) In a double boiler, melt chocolate until smooth and velvety.
I use 2 pots, fill with water the bigger and put on top the smaller pot (take care, the smaller pot's bottom do not touch with water, because the chocolate burnt easier). Dip half of the strawberries in chocolate and let it dry.

Bon Appetit!


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Join us at SPST for some great cross-promotion games!! https://www.etsy.com/teams/12274/strategic-promotion-for-success-team PRESENTED TO YOU BY OUR CAPTAIN:  Hi, my name is Ildi. I really enjoy the process of making pottery: I sit down at a table with clay and try to make something that I have an imagination of. I want something and the clay wants something but in the end I can work until I am most satisfied with the outcome.

www.etsy.com/shop/ceraminic

Christmas Traditions From Around The World - Germany Inspired

"In Germany, we celebrate the time of Advent. Most families have an advent wreath, and each Advent Sunday one more candle gets lit until there are four candles on the 4^th of Advent.

 

We also use much of our Christmas decoration during Advent. The little choir singers and the other advent decoration are a very traditional decoration. They are made in the Eastern part of Germany , they are all handmade. 

These little black choir singers known as Kurrendesänger have been in my family since the early 60’s. We received them when the East was the GDR, and as you can see from the little cracks they were very loved. 

Our “big day” is not Christmas Day (and we even have two of them!) but Christmas Eve – Heilig Abend (Holy Eve) as it is called. 

It usually starts out hectic, often with the last big shopping, because all of the stores and supermarkets will be closed for the following two days. But around 2:00pm the shops (including the grocery stores) close and by 3:00pm at the latest a magical silence covers the entire country like a beautiful veil. 

The cinnamon stars are a traditional and popular Christmas cookie in Germany ; my daughter and I still bake them every Christmas. 

The ideal December 24^th brings snow in the afternoon and turns the world into a winter wonderland by the time the first church bells start to ring. On Christmas Eve all the bells are ringing, from the smallest, highest pitch to the biggest one with the deepest, loudest sound. 

It’s a concert of bells that resounds through the silence, calling for mass. Christmas services start in the later afternoon, the first ones mainly for smaller children, showing nativity plays and involving the kids. 

Later in the evening follow the more “grown-up” services with meaningful sermons and the old German Christmas carols sung by the congregation. Everybody knows these songs and since the churches are always packed on Christmas Eve it is a strong and joyful singing. 

After church it’s back home – and waiting for Christkind (Christ Child). Yes – it often is not Santa coming through the chimney (there are not that many houses with a fireplace anyway) but Christkind.

When I was a child I always envisioned Christkind with golden curly hair and a flowing white dress, an angelic smile on its face. It would place the presents in “die gute Stube” (“the good room” = living room) and magically disappear, unseen by anyone. 

The children are called in and they stand in awe looking at the Christmas tree – that was brought in and decorated only the day before (or even in the morning) and very often carries real candles on its branches. 

I have always loved the real candles, it smells differently and the whole atmosphere is – yes, magical. After singing a few Christmas carols everybody opens their presents accompanied by Christmas music on the radio.

And if you’re still awake or missed the afternoon/evening service you can go to midnight mass – always my favorite Christmas service. A huge tree is lit (some with real candles – we live dangerously in Germany!), the atmosphere is festive and peaceful. “

It is our “Silent Night, Holy Night”.

Thank you so much, Carola, for sharing your family's Christmas traditions with us from Germany!

Spread Some SPST Love And Visit Carola's Etsy Shop Today :

https://www.etsy.com/shop/CarolaBartz

PRESENTED TO YOU BY OUR TEAM CAPTAIN: 

Unique Christmas Gifts for the home or office. A Gift Of Nature features adorable miniature landscapes and aquascapes. Our love of nature brings about our vision for these mini Winter Terrariums. Beautiful as Christmas Ornaments, these Terrarium Kits are perfect for holiday gifting. Experience the beauty of nature at your fingertips!    http://www.etsy.com/shop/AGiftofNature

Cookies For A Crowd - Easy Christmas Goodies Recipe For Holiday Entertaining

I love to bake! I have all sorts of possible gadgets and recipe books for any sort of sweet thing on the planet.  I also love my silhouette, so I usually give away my products to friends and family who are willing to sacrifice and eat my sweets.

There are many times when I am asked to bring something to a potluck or I just want to show my appreciation for someone with a gift from my kitchen. For instance, my child’s school offers treats to teachers once a month. They work hard and they deserve to get recognized for that in one way or another. The problem is that they are many. One regular batch of cookies or a cake is not going to satisfy all of them. Here is where this delicious recipe comes to the rescue.

I found it on the internet about 10 years ago and I have used it ever since any time I need cookies for big gatherings or for a lot of gifts. It even made it to Italy, where it’s regularly used by my mother!

When you read it and see the ingredients, you’ll think that this is yet another chocolate chip cookie recipe.  Yes and no. I am not really crazy about chocolate chip cookies. The bought ones are usually too dry and chalky; the homemade ones are usually too thin and boring.

These ones, however, if properly prepared, are soft and supple, have a great taste that improves with age and are pleasant to the eye!

I usually prepare them 3 days in advance, as I think they reach their peak flavor after 3 days. However, I once forgot some, and they tasted fine even after 15 days, which thing makes them great for shipping inside care packages. I also froze some and they taste as good as the fresh ones, after they are defrosted. Just pop them in the microwave for 5 seconds and they’ll be warm and oozing chocolate from everywhere.

But without further ado, here is the recipe…

2 cups butter
2 cups sugar
2 cups brown sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
4 cups flour
5 cups pulverized oatmeal (measure the oatmeal first then pulverize it)
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
24 oz. chocolate chips

3 cups chopped nuts (optional, but they really add dimension to the flavor)


Tip: I suggest that you use your hands with gloves to mix this dough. I tried to make them once with my very powerful kitchen Aid and it was screaming all the way.

1) In a very large bowl cream together the butter and both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla

2) In a separate bowl mix together the flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Add this mixture to the large bowl, incorporating with your hands after every addition.

3) Finally, add the chocolate chips and walnuts.

4) At this point I use a medium size ice cream scoop to get even size dough balls. I place them onto a cookie sheet at a distance of about 1 inch from each other (while baking they will flatten a little bit, so that they will look like chocolate chip cookies and not like balls.

5) Bake them for 12 minutes at 350 F. After cooling down, put them on a cookie rack and after that inside an airtight container.

I usually get between 105 and 120 cookies...


It usually takes me at least 2:30 hours from start to finish, obviously, you can cut the ingredients in half and save time.

PRESENTED TO YOU BY OUR LEADER: 

Hello, I am an Italian from Venice, but my husband's military job assignment brought me to the US to live. I teach full time for a visual and performing arts high school. I have lots of talented students.  My talent is jewelry making. I love making jewelry. In particular I like to use authentic Murano glass that I buy from my master beadmakers every summer when I go home to visit my folks. Lately I have been experimenting with semiprecious gemstones and wire. It's fun. I have been creating my pieces for about ten years and have placed many of them in good homes all over the world.           www.etsy.com/shop/venetianmemories

Share A Recipe! - An Appetizer For Easy Entertaining

 

Having guests over for dinner? Well, we have an amazingly simple recipe just for you! This would also make for an excellent appetizer for your holiday entertaining. What's soooo nice about this recipe is that you can make more now and still have some to enjoy throughout the week!

No preservatives, no artificial colors, no artificial flavors! 100% Delicious :-)

Let's continue our culinary journey to Italy for your next meal! See below recipe for some homemade goodness special courtesy of Alta Cucina from our very own SPS Team :


RECIPE:

A&A Marinated Feta  Ingredients: 1/2 pound feta cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes 1/2 cup A&A Lemon Infused Extra Virgin Olive Oil 2 Tbsp A&A Napoli Seasoning

Combine all the ingredients together and mix well. Place them in a jar. Seal and place the jar in the fridge for at least 48 hours to allow the flavors to develop. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Spoon this wonderful marinated feta onto crackers, crostini or bruschetta and serve as an appetizer. Or spice up your salads by sprinkling on some of the feta cheese. And when you have consumed all the cheese, use the remaining flavorful olive oil as a delicious salad dressing or dipping oil.

Buon APETITO!!!

This wonderful recipe was shared with us by Alta Cucina . :-)


About Alta Cucina :

We use only the freshest and finest ingredients that allows us to offer you the best tasting blending seasonings, infused oils and balsamic reductions that you will ever experience so now you can make traditional Italian dishes easily at your in just minutes in a Italian way!

Share A Recipe !

 

Doesn't that salad look absolutely divine? Beautiful colors and healthy ingredients. I came across this wonderful bottle of Fig Balsamic Vinegar Reduction! And Alta Cucina was so nice as to provide me with a photo of a meal she had recently made with this very same vinegar reduction!

No preservatives, no artificial colors, no artificial flavors! 100% Delicious And Healthy :-)

I just had to share this with all of you :-) So let's take a brief journey to Italy for your next meal! See below recipe for some homemade goodness special courtesy of Alta Cucina from our very own SPS Team :


RECIPE:

Arugula Salad with Figs, Feta Cheese, Walnuts and A&A Fig Balsamic Reduction  Ingredients: 4 cups baby arugula 6 fresh figs, washed and quartered 3 oz diced feta cheese 1/3 cup walnuts 1/4 cup A&A Fig Balsamic Glaze

The salad recipe is really simple!

Arrange arugula in a salad bowl, top with feta cheese, figs, walnuts and drizzle the Balsamic.

Tips: This salad can be served as many times as you'd like, with some small changes:
Cheese: Try it with goat cheese or with gorgonzola instead of the feta. Any of these cheeses would pair wonderfully with the figs!
Nuts: Try it with sliced almonds instead of walnuts.
Salad: Change the Arugula with some baby spinach!!

Buon APETITO!!!

    

This delicious and healthy recipe was shared with us by Alta Cucina . And she even provided us with so many ideas for variations to the salad. Awesome!!! Look at the beautiful packaging. These would make fabulous gifts for your friends and family! :-)

About Alta Cucina :

We use only the freshest and finest ingredients that allows us to offer you the best tasting blending seasonings, infused oils and balsamic reductions that you will ever experience so now you can make traditional Italian dishes easily at your in just minutes in a Italian way!