Friday’s summer pleasure

Dear readers,

Today it’s a beautiful day in Rome, Italy, and it seems that summer is finally here. Cars will be lining up on weekends toward beach destinations, making life more interesting with longer days thanks to daylight savings and great weather. Romans are out and about like ants when the weather is good - beach, mountains, picnics, visiting nearby towns and having a meal outside local restaurants. LA VITA È BELLA!

I’ll be posting weekend adventures with pictures on my blog soon so stay tuned for more.

Looking forward to the weekend.

Ciao
Grace

It's Monday morning

Good morning friends,

It's Monday morning and here we are hoping summer is on its way. After a wonderfully hot weekend, with highs of 25 degrees, we start the week in Rome, Italy, with rainy, gloomy weather but that’s okay.  We need a little rain to make sure the Italian countryside stays lush and beautiful, and before it gets extremely hot, let’s enjoy springtime because it’s an important passage to summer.

The next story in my Miller Family Series is going through the last editing changes so look for DALTON’S EMBRACE when it comes out at the end of April.
Happy Monday
Grace

Casatiello Napoletano (for Easter)

Grace Kagni's Easter Casatiello recipe

600 g of flour
300 g of warm water
10 g of beer yeast
40 g lard
Salt and pepper
FOR FILLING
150 g of salami napoletano
150 g of provolone cheese
150 g of grated pecorino cheese
3 eggs

Melt yeast in a little warm water then place the flour on a board and make a hole. Add warm water with yeast, salt and pepper. Then add half of the lard and mix well, kneading the dough until firm. If dough is too hard, add a little water. When the dough is ready, it should be be like an elastic, bounce back when you pull it. Place a clean dish towel over it and let rise for two hours.

Cut the salami and cheese into small cubes and set aside.

When dough has risen, keep aside a small ball the size of an orange for later and flatten the rest into a rectangular shape of approximately one centimetre in height. Spread lard over the top and sprinkle grated pecorino cheese then fold the dough over and flatten again into a rectangle. Spread lard again and sprinkle grated pecorino cheese and then fold the dough over again. Then spread lard, sprinkle with pecorino cheese and place provolone and salami cubes over dough. Lastly, roll from the long edge of the rectangle into a log and place it in a bundt tin lined with baking paper. Place a clean dish towel over it and let rise for three hours.

Wash eggs and dry, then place flat on dough. Take remaining dough set aside earlier and divide into six pieces. Roll six long sausages, lying two flat crossing over each egg. Then beat an egg yolk and glaze the top of the casatiello before placing in oven at 180 degrees for 50 minutes.

Buona Pasqua and enjoy