The Kitchen Window

The Kitchen Window
Antique Milk Bottles with Herbs and Flowers

Welcome!

Welcome to the Frog Hollow Farm blog! I've been blogging since January 2010 and have switched from Blogger to Word Press, but I'm back to Blogger because, for me, it's easier to use. My husband and I live on a little farm in Northwest New Jersey. We have some chickens and a very large vegetable garden with asparagus and raspberries, and rows and rows of sunflowers, snapdragons and zinnias. Traveling, entertaining, gardening, spending time with family, studying Italian, blogging and reading keep us busy and happy. With all of this going on, moving towards a simpler life seems almost impossible but it's definitely a daily goal.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Recipes from La Cucina Del Garga

Okay, I promised the recipes from the cooking class that FHFB and I took in Florence in my last posting.  I even figured out how to scan them from the little cooking booklet that Sharon gave us at our class. 
Woo Hoo!!!  Big Time!!! Really - I'm still struggling with getting photos from my camera to Picassa.  Some days I am extremely fluent in it and some days it's like I never did it before.  Does that ever happen to you with technology??

I'll be posting the appetizer recipe today - yesterday's posting was a little too long and I don't want to just list one recipe after another.

And I think each one of them deserves their own post. 

Our first course was a delicious bruschetta, made with small, fresh, insanely ripe organic Sicilian tomatoes. 





Sharon and I halved the tomatoes and spread them right onto a cookie sheet.  She was so delightful to work with, always smiling and giving great advice and sharing little tidbits of information about the food we were working with along with interesting facts about Tuscan cooking. 

So, so yummy!!

The red pepper flakes used in this recipe are from tiny little dried peppers that are just crushed and added to the tomatoes - not from a jar of crushed red pepper flakes. FHFB and I purchased a little bag of these peppers last year (mainly because I thought they were so cute) and put them into a small Mason jar once the cellophane bad was opened - you can see that I saved the label and taped it to the outside of the jar. 


We ate this appetizer while we prepared the rest of the dishes and drank the white wine - Pomino Bianco from the Frescobaldi vineyards.  I have more information about ithe wine and a picture of the bottle in my last post. 

So, if you can find some ripe Sicilian tomatoes give this simple rustic appetizer a try.  If Sicilian tomatoes aren't available at your farmer's market or grocers try some large organic grape tomatoes - we roast them all of the time here at Frog Hollow Farm and serve them on top of goat cheese on a crostini or on top of fresh ricotta cheese.    Here are two links to recipes from my collection that include roasted tomatoes:

Goat Cheese and Roasted Tomato Crostini
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/goat-cheese-roasted-tomato-crostini-10000002013001/

Ricotta and Roasted Tomato Crostini
http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/ricotta-and-roasted-tomato-crostini-00000000048772/index.html
This particular feature in Real Simple featured 10 different ideas for crostini - all yummy.

See you next time with the recipe and photos for the Pasta Magnifico recipe!

Ciao, bella!

~~~A produce stand at the Mercato Centrale in Florence~~~

Joining Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum!

9 comments:

  1. was just reading about your trip, how exciting, and yum YUM YUM!

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  2. Love bruschetta, this sounds great! I planted 6 cherry tomato plants this year, I see some roasting in my future:@)

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  3. Oh my these sound absolutely amazing! I've enjoyed growing many of my own fresh veggies and herbs in the Garden this year and have had better success than my 1st year (last year) so I'm really jazzed about expanding my culinary horizons using the fresh produce.

    Blessings from the Arizona Desert... Dawn... The Bohemian

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  4. YOUR RECIPES SOUND DELICIOUS, GUESS I'LL HAVE TO TAKE A TRIP TO FLORENCE, FOR THOSE TOMATOES.
    TAKE CARE, LOVE, AUNT RIZ

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  5. I LOVE bruschetta......thanks for this yummy recipe. I have always wanted to go to a cooking school in Italy or France....still on my bucket list! (O:

    xo

    Jo

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  6. oh this looks wonderful...i am LOVING all of this so much...

    happy to stop by today, my friend

    kary, teddy and all the kittys at farmhouse

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  7. It was fun following along on your trip on facebook! This recipe looks delicious. How exciting to take a cooking class in Florence! Especially, with you and Frank being such great cooks. What an experience.

    I really enjoy your blog, Ann Marie, and am glad you're back. Looking forward to more posts about Italy!

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  8. Looks absolutely delicious! I just love bruschetta... It's a tiny bit addictive! LOL Like Jo, cooking school in Italy or France (or both!) is definitely on my bucket list.

    Newly following from Foodie Friday. I'd love to have you stop by and say hello!

    Mrs B ~ http://goaheadtakeabite.blogspot.com

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  9. Oh wow! The bruschetta looks amazing! I will be touring the farmer's market soon. I really must make this!

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