Savor Spring Vegetables

I'm partnering with my friends over at Family Eats again this month for a post on eating seasonally. Stop by Family Eats here to take a look at what's being cooked up for spring!

As the warming weather reveals beautiful new elements in the world, the earth also yields wonderful treats just waiting to be eaten: spring vegetables. The season for each spring vegetable is short lived, so be sure to take advantage of the selection at your local farmers' market. Snap up the best of the season as soon as they appear, because they might be gone next week! Some of my personal favorites are asparagus, artichokes, and baby English peas. All three can be incorporated into salads or a springtime pasta dish. Asparagus is one of my personal favorites. Not only is it delicious, it is very good for you, too. Studies have shown that it is a great low-calorie source of folate and potassium and that its stalks are high in antioxidants. Just six spears contain some 135 micrograms of folate, almost half the recommended daily intake. Green asparagus especially is a good source of vitamin C.

When you eat in season, and the vegetables are locally grown, you'll find such a wonderful difference in taste and texture from out-of-season supermarket varieties. Once you try eating seasonally, I promise you'll never go back. Below is a list of delicious fruits and vegetables available during the spring. Be sure to grab them!

March, April, and May Fruits
Apricots
Barbados Cherries
Honeydew
Limes
Lychee
Mango
Oranges
Pineapple
Rhubarb
Strawberries

March, April, and May Vegetables
Artichokes
Asparagus
Belgian Endive
Broccoli
Collard Greens
Corn
Fava Beans
Fennel
Green Beans
Morel Mushrooms
Pea Pods
Peas
Purple Asparagus
Radicchio
Red Leaf Lettuce
Snow Peas
Spinach
Spring Baby Lettuce
Swiss Chard
Vidalia Onions
Watercress
White Asparagus

There are also a number of delicious vegetables and fruits available year-round:

Apples
Avocados
Bananas
Bell Peppers
Black Eyed Peas
Bok Choy
Broccolini
Cabbage
Carrots
Celery
Cherry Tomatoes
Coconut
Leeks
Lemons
Lettuce
Olives
Onions
Potatoes
Rutabagas

Enjoy the Spring!

With love,

www.rosannainc.com

Be Ready for Spontaneous Get-Togethers

This week I'm collaborating with the entertaining blog Hip Hostess! Hip Hostess is writing about last minute entertaining made easy. Check them out here.

Italians love to get together to eat, but Italian dinner parties are rarely formal affairs. After a friendly conversation or chance meeting with friends, both parties agree on a date a few days in the future, and a dinner party is born. I absolutely love this part of the Italian culture. The invitation to an easygoing and relatively unexpected dinner party creates an atmosphere of exuberant anticipation, giving the evening a youthful, carefree freshness and providing an opportunity to enliven the spirit. When we spend our vacation in Italy, unplanned dinner parties play an important part in the Italian experience.

How to have your own spontaneous pizza party:

1. Pick up the phone and call your friends and invite them to a pizza party that night.
2. Many pizza restaurants sell their dough raw; if you don't have time to make your own dough, ask around at your favorite pizzeria.
3. Use a pizza stone to replicate the effect of pizza cooked in an authentic pizza oven. Preheat it as the oven comes up to a temperature of 500 - 500 F (260 - 288 C) (Gas mark 9), and let it heat for at least 30 minutes before you slide the first pizza on it. Bake your pizza f or 6 - 7 minutes, or until the crust is browned and bubbly
4. Use my tomato sauce recipe below as a base sauce for the pizza.
5. Use fresh mozzarella - the kind that comes in balls packed in water - as your first layer.
6. Grate real Parmigiano-Reggiano in a food processor or with a Microplane grater to sprinkle on top.
7. Use freshly sliced prosciutto, salami, or capocollo meats. Make sure your cold cuts are fresh and moist. Arrange the meats on top of the pizza after it has come out of the oven to avoid overcooking.
8. Lightly saute slices of zucchini, eggplant, and artichoke hearts in extra-virgin olive oil. Drain on paper towels and set aside to use as pizza toppings.
9. Set out a jar of Nutella and have a small bowl of sugar ready to make an amazing dessert pizza.
10. There are many great toppings you can use on your pizzas. See below for more ideas.

Rosanna's Tomato Sauce

MAKES 6 SERVINGS

1 large carrot
2 ribs celery with leaves
1 onion
4 cloves garlic
1/2 cup (120 ml) good quality extra-virgin olive oil
2 (28 ounce) (794 g) cans San Marzano tomatoes
1 teaspoons (6 g) sea salt
1/2 teaspoons (3 g) sugar (if necessary)

Chop the carrot, celery, onion, and garlic (this can also be done in a food processor).

Put the oil in a large saucepan and place over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the chopped vegetables and saute over medium heart until just soft, about 5 minutes.

Puree the tomatoes in a food processor, then add them to the pan. Add the salt and sugar if necessary (I find that the San Marzano tomatoes are usually sweet enough on their own). Let the sauce simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Daniela and Vito's Out-of-This-World Pizza Toppings

What exactly you choose to put on each pizza is completely up to you and your guests, but there are a few things you can do to make your pizzas truly extraordinary. First, use the best quality ingredients for your toppings: homemade sauce, locally grown and preferably organic vegetables, freshly sliced cured meats, and good quality cheeses. Second, don't be tempted to overload your pizza with too much sauce and cheese, which can result in soggy, sloppy crust.

Sauces
Rosanna's Tomato Sauce
Extra-virgin olive oil

Cheeses
3 large balls fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm) slices
1 cup (100 g) freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 cup (100 g) freshly grated Pecorino Toscano (aged Tuscan sheep's milk cheese)

Vegetables
Zucchini, thinly sliced lengthwise, sauteed in olive oil until golden, and drained on paper towels
Yukon Gold potatoes, boiled, peeled, and cut into cubes
Eggplant, thinly sliced lengthwise, grilled or sauteed in olive oil, drained on paper towels, and cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm) lengths
Small yellow onion, peeled and roasted until soft and lightly browned
1 bunch baby arugula, washed, drained, and spun dry
1 (14-ounce) (396 g) can artichoke hearts in water, drained

Meats
10 thin slices prosciutto from Parma or Norcia, Italy
15 to 25 thin slices  Genoa wine salami
15 to 25 thin slices copocollo
10 thin slices pancetta
3 mild Italian pork sausages, grilled or broiled until cooked through, then thinly sliced

Dessert toppings
1 (13-ounce) (371 g) jar Nutella
1 cup (200 g) sugar

Have fun!

With love,

www.rosannainc.com

La Vie en Rose

Feeling inspired? Be sure to check out the Parisian-themed post over at Girly Obsessions. Our friends there are showcasing the Petite Patisserie plates and a delicious macaron recipe! Girly Obsessions is a wonderful blog about all things pretty, cute, and fabulous - what's not to love?

Last month I had the immense pleasure of exhibiting at the Maison Objet Show in Paris, France. It is one of the most influential design shows in the world and designers exhibit their wares by invitation only. Being invited to the show was an incredible honor and compliment to the Rosanna brand.

We had a fantastic booth set up in a French style showing off all our new Spring and Summer lines.

One of the best parts of the show was getting to meet people from all over the world who really understood the Rosanna mission and philosophy of tradition, love, and connecting with others. Some of the customers we spoke to were from places such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Austria, and Portugal, to name a few. It was wonderful to hear about our products are being sold in such culturally diverse places. I am fluent in French, too, so being able to communicate with France's people directly was a treat.

Of course being in Paris in and of itself is always amazing. I have a handful of shops and cafes that I go to every time I visit. There's a bakery called Poilane that has the most incredible bread - it's all whole grain, hand-made, real artisan-crafted bread with no additives. I love the concept of eating soulful, healthy food wherever I am. I also spent a whole day in the Paris flea markets taking in the culture and being inspired by all the lovely items the merchants were selling. I took back suitcases full of treasures!

As luck would have it, we were there the week before Paris' Fashion Week, and got to peek at the trends to come. For most of the time we were there, Prada had paper covering the display windows so no one could see in. On the last day, they tore down the paper to reveal a beautiful display full of bright, colorful tones and lots of pastels. Spring had certainly sprung at Prada!

I'm always overflowing with creativity after a visit to France and the City of Lights. Everywhere you go there are beautiful pieces of inspiration: the food, history, ambiance, and fashion of Paris are unparalleled.

J'Adore Paris!

With love,

www.rosannainc.com

Spring Decor and a Special Spring Recipe

We're partnering with Social Couture this week! Stop by and read their post on hosting a lovely spring brunch!

Spring is almost here! Freshen up your home with springtime decorations. Each spring festival has its own set of symbols we can use to decorate our homes, but in general I decorate my home with green boughs, branches, potted spring flowers, and all the symbols of rebirth: bunnies, eggs, chicks, and ducks.

In your garden, find a nicely shaped barren branch or a spring branch with budding flowers. To preserve freshness, smash the bottom of the branch with a hammer so it will better absorb water. Place the branches in a tall vase of water. Decorate the branch with tiny symbols of the season: blow out eggshells and tie them with a ribbon, tie skinny pastel ribbons in bows with long tails, and set tiny figurines of bunnies, chicks, or ducks amid the twigs. Display in a hallway or on a mantle for a striking spring statement.

Find a hand-hewn willow basket about five and a half inches (14 centimeters) high. Line it with plastic and set small, colorful spring plants still in their containers inside the basket. Between the containers, put moss from a floral-supply store or home-decor store. This makes a charming centerpiece on a dining room table or as a beautiful explosion of color anywhere in the home. Be sure to water it regularly, misting the moss occasionally to revive its bright green color.

Find unusual vessels like 1960's Danish modern coffee pots or tall heavy cut crystal vases and fill them with branches or pussy willows.

Fill old silver-plate trays that are about ten inches (25 centimeters) long and about three inch (7.5 centimeters) deep with faux moss or grass. Nestle some pale-colored faux eggs in the moss and place the trays around the house.

Find some fun, vintage-looking bunnies, eggs, or birds and create a small tableau on an old silver tray. Pair with votives or a dramatic par of candlesticks to center the scene. Place in a prominent spot such as on a sideboard, the center of the dining table, or on a kitchen island.

Coconut Cream Pie

This delectable cream pie is a wonderful mixture of lightly toasted coconut and dense homemade cream base with hints of velvety vanilla. I love the combination of the slightly salty crust, the creamy filling, and the crunch of the toasted coconut. This pie makes a lovely spring dessert and a culinary treat.

MAKES 1 (9-INCH) (23 CM) PIE; SERVES 6 TO 8

1/2 recipe (1 ball) My Mom's Extra-Flaky Pie Crust Dough (see below)
1 1/2 cups (114 g) shredded sweetened coconut
5 large eggs, beaten
2 1/2 cups (592 ml) whole milk
3/4 cup (150 g) sugar
1/4 cup (32 g) cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon (1.5 g) fine sea salt
3 to 5 tablespoons (52 to 70 g) unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1 1/2 tablespoons (22 ml) vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 F (177 C) (Gas mark 4). Roll the dough out to a circle 1/8-inch (3 mm) thick and fit it into a 9-inch (23 cm) pie pan. Trim and flute the edge. Line with parchment paper and fill with dried beans, rice, or metal pie weights. Bake for 20 minutes, until browned. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Lower the oven temperature to 300 F (149 C) (Gas mark 2).

Spread the coconut on a baking sheet. Toast until golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Let cool at room temperature.

In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the eggs until light yellow. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, bring the milk to the scalding point; you'll know the milk has reached the right temperature when a "skin" forms on top of the liquid.

In the top of a double boiler off the heat, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt, then whisk in the heated milk until thoroughly combined. Put the pan over simmering water in the bottom part of the double boiler, then gradually add the beaten eggs, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Remove from the heat and blend in the butter with an electric mixer. Stir in the vanilla.

Stir in 1 1/4 cups (127 g) of the toasted coconut, then spoon the mixture into the cooled pie shell and top with the remaining coconut. Cover with wax paper and refrigerate until cold. Serve.

My Mom's Extra-Flaky Pie Crust Dough

Make sure that you don't work the dough too much or the crust will be tough and not flaky.

MAKES ENOUGH FOR 1 (9-INCH) (23 CM) DOUBLE-CRUST PIE, OR 2 (9-INCH) (23 CM) SINGLE-CRUST PIES.

4 cups (512 g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon (6 g) finely ground sea salt
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) (340 g) cold organic unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1/8 cup (28 g) cold organic vegetable shortening
1/2 cup (125 ml) ice water

Put the flour and salt in a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the butter in small pieces and shortening and pulse until the mixture resembles fine cornmeal.

While pulsing the motor, slowly add the 1/2 cup (125 ml) ice water through the feed tube. If the dough has not formed a ball, add a little more water, pulsing until the dough forms a firm ball. Do not overprocess or the dough will be tough. Divide the dough ball in half and wrap each ball in plastic wrap. Set aside in the refrigerator for 1 hour before processing with the pie recipe.

Happy Spring!

With love,

www.rosannainc.com

Back to the Basics: The Importance of Small Gestures

I read a wonderful article in The New York Times the other day. It was a small ode to Jeffrey Zaslow. He is a recently deceased author whose writing centered on the themes of love, commitment and living in the moment. Jeffrey is best known for co-authoring The Last Lecture with Professor Randy Pausch, who gave a poignant TED Talk about what truly matters in life, clarity he received after he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. 

The people and stories Jeffrey wrote about were not sweeping. The ideas in his work were not revolutionary. In fact, some might even call them timeworn. One story Jeffrey wrote told the story of a judge who always made sure to tell his family “I love you” before walking out the door. Another op-ed for The Wall Street Journal focused on raising our sons to be considerate in romance.

The article quoted Jeff in why it’s important to write about the basic tenets of a good life. His reason is worth sharing:      

“What I like about my job is sometimes I’m just writing about the obvious. By doing that, you can touch a lot of people and tell them things that will change their lives, even if it’s something simple.”

I feel the same way about this blog—the themes and suggestions I post here are nothing new or astonishing. They’re simply important ideas worth revisiting every now and again. Writing about obvious ideas and small gestures can remind us how important they are.  

Small Gestures That Go a Long Way Towards Love

-Picking a single flower and giving it to someone you care about

-Writing a small note—one or two lines long—to a friend or family member you don’t talk to very often telling them you’re thinking of them and wanted to say hello

-Making a cup or tea or coffee for someone you live with at the end of a long day

-Paying a compliment to a stranger on the street

-Making eye contact, saying hello, and genuinely asking, “How are you?” to your clerk next time you buy something at the store


With love,

www.rosannainc.com

Extending Childhood and Revisiting Childhood Pleasures

Make sure to check out the blog Moore Minutes' post on family dinner show and tells here! What a fantastic way to re-establish family connections and help extend childhood.

I find that one of the biggest challenges of rearing an elementary- or middle-school-age child in today's world is figuring out how to slow down the breakneck speed of growing up. Everything is amped up in school. Children are immediately enrolled in activities and have a heavy homework load, oftentimes within the first week of school. I'm constantly looking for ways to slow things down and allow my daughter to be a "little girl," unburdened by stress, for as long as possible.

I remember carefree afternoons spent in unstructured play as one of the best parts of my childhood because the magic of that time in one's life is based on an ability to play creatively. Spring offers us a variety of ways to change our old habits. Lightening our cuisine and eating more vegetables and less meat can be very satisfying - as well as an opportunity to lose any extra weight we may have put on during the winter months!

As the weather changes, it also means we're able to spend much more time outside - walking, exercising, and simply playing. Taking a short half-hour walk around your neighborhood is a great way to take note of nature's beauty. Another way to take advantage of the weather with your family is to play the outdoor games from your childhood - structured ones like softball or capture the flag, or more casual activities like kick the can or throwing a Frisbee. Doing something fun outdoors is quality time that also helps you stay in shape.

As the days lengthen, it's fun to incorporate  games into an early evening on a weekday or a quiet Sunday afternoon. It's a lovely way to feel young again and pass on the notion of free play to our children.

During the summer months, I purposely avoid scheduling "play dates" in advance, and instead let them happen naturally. If my daughter wants company, we simply pick up the phone and see who's around. Luckily, one of her closest friends lives across the street. This is one way I try to revive the bygone tradition of spontaneous play and unstructured free time.

To encourage play that doesn't involve computers or electronic devices, I keep a large closet stocked with old clothes and costumes from my older daughter's theater days for dress-up. I also have an open kitchen, and I invite the children to cook when they feel like it. A real childhood, rather than a never-ending preparation for adulthood, is the greatest gift we can give our children. Childhood is a time in life to protect and nurture. Encourage kids to slow down. They have their whole lives to be adults. For the time being, let your children be children.

With love,

www.rosannainc.com

Throw a Child's Springtime Birthday Party

This month we're partnering with Pizzazzerie, a wonderful entertaining website and blog focused on various party ideas, DIY holiday and party decor projects, recipes, and wedding advice. Head over to read more tips about children's parties and some amazing ideas for throwing your own soiree for your favorite little ones! Check out the article here.

My older daughter Alessandra’s birthday is in May, and my younger daughter, Francesca, has a birthday that falls right after Christmas. Because the holidays are such a hectic time, I always throw Francesca’s birthday party in March. Although it’s still officially winter, I try to put a spring twist to the theme to transform the environment into a fun, colorful, light celebration that contrasts with the lavish decorations and extravagant mood of the winter holidays.

A few years ago for Francesca’s twelfth birthday, I re-created a party from my own childhood. I chose color combinations that were popular in the 60’s, and we made posters and decorations reflective of the era. Vases of hot pink gerbera daisies filled the house, trays piled high with homemade cupcakes graced the table, and in the background played the music from Across the Universe. Her guests even played vintage Barbie, a board game from my childhood. I also invited the mothers of Francesca’s friends over for a pre-party glass of Champagne. I served homemade stove-top popcorn along with pizza and a variety of organic “junk food.” We watched Francesca and her friends on what was probably the last year of their official “girlhood” and sang Francesca “Happy Birthday.” Then the girls headed downstairs with sleeping bags in tow, ready to enjoy their first independent sleepover.

Rosanna’s Tips on Planning a Child’s Party

Over the past twenty years that I’ve thrown birthday parties for my daughters, I’ve learned some important lessons for how to make a birthday party successful.

1. Pick a theme. We chose the 1960’s because we love the colors and design elements of the era. It’s often easier to come up with fun foods, decorating ideas, and party activities when you have a framework in which to brainstorm.
2. Design a fun invitation on the computer or craft handmade invitations that define the party. Let people know that this is an event to look forward to!
3. Play a variety of age appropriate games; the most popular at my daughter’s twelfth birthday party was the vintage Barbie game, and we also rented movies like Big, Mamma Mia!, The Parent Trap, and Grease.
4. Provide food that’s easy to deal with and at least somewhat healthy. To accomplish these goals, I ordered pizza from a restaurant that uses fresh, local ingredients, and I made my own cupcakes from a good boxed mix that had no preservatives or additives. I made big bowls of homemade popcorn and served fun snacks like Smart Puffs and Hava Corn Chips form San Francisco (another throwback from the theme era), and for an indulgent treat, I set out bowls of colorful M&Ms.
5. Set up a space that takes into account the interests of your child and his or her friends. For the sleepover in our basement, I piled up lots of blankets and set out big puffy floor pillows and beanbag chairs for easy movie viewing and late-night chats.

Sleepover Chocolate Chip Pancakes

These pancakes are the perfect breakfast for a pre-teen sleepover party. They are homemade and deliciously decadent served with pure Vermont maple syrup. After a long night of chatting and girl talk, this breakfast is the perfect food to accompany the last bit of silliness and joking before everyone heads home. To offset the rich, high-carbohydrate breakfast, I serve tall glasses of ice-cold organic 2 percent milk (then leave the girls to enjoy the meal on their own). Use several skillets so guests are not left waiting for their breakfasts.

MAKES 8 (6-INCH) (15 CM) PANCAKES

1 cup (142 g) all-purpose flour

¼ cup (49 g) sugar

1 teaspoon (6 g) fine sea salt

1 teaspoon (6 g) baking powder

1 cup (250 ml) whole milk

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract

3 tablespoons (42 g) butter, melted

Canola oil

1 (10-ounce) (284 g) bag semisweet chocolate chips (you want to add about 7 or 8 chips per pancake)

Real Vermont maple syrup, for serving

Mix the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder together in a large mixing bowl and set aside. In another bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, vanilla, and butter. Gently pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold to just combine.

Brush a large, heavy skillet (or several skillets) with oil, then place over medium-high heat. Using a ¼-cup (12 ml) measuring cup, scoop the batter into the skillet to form 6-inch (15 cm) pancakes. Cook until small bubbles appear on the top of the pancake, then sprinkle with chocolate chips. Flip the pancake to cook the other side until lightly browned or golden, about 4 minutes per side, or until the top is bubbling and the bottom has solidified. Serve hot, with syrup.

Have fun!

With love,

www.rosannainc.com