Skinny Italian: Eat It and Enjoy It (23 page)
Read Skinny Italian: Eat It and Enjoy It Online
Authors: Teresa Giudice,Heather Maclean
Tags: #food.cookbooks
When in Rome . . .
espresso = es-PRESS-o
(not EX-press-o)
biscotti = bees-COT-tee
After-Dinner Delights
No Italian meal would be complete without a nice hot cup of coffee at the end. Even though the Italians didn’t invent coffee, they did invent
espresso
and they opened the first coffee bars in Venice in the 1700s. Espresso is a very rich coffee made by forcing water past the coffee beans at great pressure. For perfect espresso, Italian coffee beans are roasted differently than American or French. French coffee is really dark and oily. American coffee is pretty watered down. And Italian coffee is rich brown and has very little oil.
You can drink your coffee any way you like, but be warned that if you’re in Italy, and you add any kind of milk or cream to your coffee after noon, you will be laughed at (milk is only for breakfast over there).
Biscotti
, which means “twice cooked” in Italian, aren’t the same as the thick, gooey, chewy, caramel- and candy bar–filled cookies we love so much in America. Biscotti dough is baked once, cut into long strips, and baked again, so it’s crispy and almost dry. Since Italian biscotti don’t have oil or butter in them like many American versions, they are much healthier and, be warned, much harder. The magic comes when you dunk your biscotti into your coffee and it comes back to life, all soft and chewy and full of flavor. Again, we keep our portions small in Italy, so we don’t eat ten biscotti, but a single slice with a nice cup of coffee . . . heaven!
My girls love to help me make biscotti. Here are our favorite recipes.
MAKES ABOUT 2 ½ DOZEN COOKIES
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon almond extract
2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
½ cup (2 ounces) sliced natural almonds
¼ cup confectioners’ sugar, for kneading
1.
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2.
Whip the eggs, granulated sugar, vanilla, and almond extract in a large bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until thick and pale yellow, about 3 minutes. In another bowl, stir the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Stir into the egg mixture to make a stiff, sticky dough. Stir in the almonds.
3.
Sprinkle the confectioners’ sugar over the work surface. Transfer the dough to the work surface, and knead gently until the dough is cohesive and loses its stickiness. Shape into a thick 8-inch log and transfer to the baking sheet. Shape the dough on the sheet into a log about 12 inches long and 2 inches wide.
4.
Bake until the dough is lightly browned and cracked, and feels set when pressed on the top, about 30 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet for 30 minutes.
5.
Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F. Carefully transfer the log to a chopping board. Using a serrated knife, cut the log on a diagonal into
½-inch-thick slices. Arrange the slices, flat sides down, on the baking sheet. (You may need 2 baking sheets. If so, place a second oven rack in the top third of the oven.) Bake until the surfaces begin to brown, about 10 minutes. Flip the biscotti over, and bake for another 10 minutes. The biscotti will become crisper when cooled. Transfer to a wire cooling rack and cool completely.
T
eresa’s
T • I • P
I just love giving you little Italian lessons for your everyday life. So here’s another one: barista, the word we use for the girl who makes your coffee at Starbucks, actually means “bartender” in Italian.
And as you leave a coffeehouse in Italy, you should always say ciao (“good-bye,” pronounced “chow”) and grazie (“thanks,” pronounced “GRAH-tsee-eh”) to every employee.
F
OR
C
INNAMON
H
AZELNUT
B
ISCOTTI:
Substitute ¾ cup toasted, peeled, and coarsely chopped hazelnuts for the almonds. Omit the almond extract and add 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon to the dough.
F
OR
A
LMOND
-O
RANGE
B
ISCOTTI
:
Add the grated zest of 1 orange and 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice to the dough.
F
OR
D
OUBLE
C
HOCOLATE
B
ISCOTTI:
Reduce the flour to 2 ½ cups. Add ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder to the flour mixture. Stir 1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips into the dough.
I have loved fashion since I was a little girl. I didn’t always have the best clothes—we didn’t have a lot of money when I was growing up because my parents left everything behind in Italy to start over in America—but I loved dressing up in anything I could find.
I got my very first Italian designer handbag from my dad when I was thirteen years old. He went to Europe to visit his family (the Italian brands are much cheaper over there!) and I asked him to bring me a Gucci purse because I just loved all the Gs (my maiden name and my married name both start with G, so I pretended the Gs were just for me). My dad doesn’t know anything about purses, so I was really touched that he brought me back a tiny ivory Gucci purse with a flap close and tan Gs all over it. (I actually still have it, can you believe that? I’m saving it to give to Gia.)
I wanted to make fashion more than a hobby, so I went to school and got a degree. One of my first jobs was working as an associate buyer for Macy’s in New York City. I still lived in Jersey with my parents, so I had to take two trains and three subways to work every day, but I loved it (well, I wouldn’t say I “loved” the subway part—it was pretty gross, especially before Giuliani was the mayor). I loved being able to work in the city. Loved working with fashion. Loved making my own money so I could buy beautiful things!
Fashion Baby
Most people don’t know this, but I actually named my third daughter Milania after the city of Milan (not after Donald Trump’s newest wife, Melania, although I hear she’s lovely).
The last time Joe and I took the girls to Italy, I was five months pregnant with Milania.
When we were in Milan, I decided that I just had to name her after the city, and I added an “-ia” on the end because I love all girls’ names that end with an “a” (like Teresa, of course!). That child was born with fashion in her blood! Maybe she’ll hit the catwalks someday like Gia rocked it at New York Fashion Week.
I’m no one’s mistress, so I’m probably not going to “die in Dior” like Kim Zolciak, but I’ve been blessed enough to buy pieces by my favorite designers: Dolce & Gabbana, Versace, Moschino, Roberto Cavalli, La Perla, and Miu Miu (created by Miuccia Prada, the daughter of Prada’s founder). I also love the new Italian designer Cristiano Burani, and my Bravo boyfriend, Christian Siriano.
Of course, there are hundreds of wonderful designers in countries all over the world, but Italy is near the top because it treats fashion like art, the products are really well made with high-quality materials, and because they make the wearer feel a little spoiled, a little more sophisticated, and a whole lot sexier.
History of Italian Fashion
Italy has always been a major fashion force in the world, but for hundreds of years, the fanciest clothes could only be worn by (or afforded by) the rich and the royal. After World War Two, European fashion lost some of its glamour because the entire world had changed. The newly democratic governments filtered down to the way people could dress. For the first time, people dressed however they wanted, not just within their social class.
In 1951, Count Giovanni Battista Giorgini, a buyer for major American department stores, decided it was time to bring the fairy tale of fashion back, and bring it to everyone. He hosted a huge fashion show at his palace in Florence and invited an international audience. He debuted modern Italian clothes, and nobility modeled them. The idea was that every woman could dress like a princess, and still look like a modern goddess.
Even today, Italian women have a reputation for dressing really well, but I promise, it’s not something you have to be born with. I can teach you style, honey.
Andiamo!
Let’s go!
My dad still keeps this high school photo in his wallet. Proof that big hair is beautiful, and that I made the name necklace cool way before Carrie Bradshaw.
Teresa’s Fabulicious Fashion Tips
No one, no matter who they are or what they tell you, is born with fabulous style. Everyone makes the same hideous mistakes in high school. Everyone has an awkward stage. Everyone learns by looking around them, studying, imitating, experimenting, and finding their own groove. Here are some easy ways to add glamour to your life.
Tip 1
•
Don’t Read Fashion Magazines
I know it seems crazy, since that’s where most stylists will tell you to start, but if you’re not six feet tall with an eighteen-inch waist and more money than Midas, you are only setting yourself up for frustration and disappointment. How does looking at fantasy shots of models in avant-garde clothes they don’t even sell within six hundred miles of your zip code possibly help you to be more stylish?
I’m a magazine junkie, and, just like you, I can’t live without my
People
,
us
, and
In Touch
. But I’ve never bought a fashion magazine in my life. Never. Don’t start. It won’t help you. (I’d also recommend staying away from the blogs if you happen to appear on a reality TV show. Not so good for the self-esteem . . . ) Instead, walk around your city and your local mall. Visit the local boutiques. You’ll see what people are wearing, what’s hot this year, and what looks you like. People-watch your way into fashion do’s (and don’ts).
My Own Language
I’m sure you’ve figured it out by now, but my favorite word,
fabulicious
, came about because I say “fabulous” and “delicious” all the time, and somehow I just mushed them together one day and it stuck. I’ve taken a lot of heat for making up words (like
cleansiness
), but most people who are raised in dual-language households do that. My friend sent her daughter Hunter to speech therapy because her preschool teachers couldn’t understand her, only to find out that it wasn’t a speech problem but a made-up-word problem. Hunter’s daddy is from Scotland and she was blending words from both cultures like “backyarden” and “umbrollie.”
I think in both Italian and English, and sometimes I just go back and forth when I’m speaking without realizing it. Another of my favorite words is
skieve
—I use it like a verb to mean when something grosses me out. In Italian,
che schifo
(pronounced kay-SKEE-foe) means “how gross,” so I probably picked it up from that.
I’ve heard that Bethenny wrote some not-so-nice things about the way I speak, but I think knowing two languages and using them interchangeably every single day is a sign of intelligence, creativity, and a super-sharp mind. Making fun of people from other cultures, maybe that is a sign of the opposite.
Tip 2
•
Model, Model
I don’t know when I first taught my girls to say “model, model,” but we probably say it ten times a day. It’s just a fun little phrase that instantly makes my girls start striking fabulous poses. It’s like a little reminder to bring glamour and confidence into your day no matter what you’re doing.