Cooking With Rosa ...

November 16, 2016

Today I am having a cooking lesson with Rosa ...

learning how to make her famous meatballs and sauce ...

First of all I was sent to Rick's Deli to pick up her "Rosa special" ...

When I walked into the store to place the order ... they knew exactly what I needed ...

the beef mix was ground fresh ... and the rib sections were packaged individually ...

We had been planning this day for quite some time ...

finally going to make her meatballs and sauce ...

The first order of business was to place the ribs into a baking pan and bake it in the oven ...

The hamburger meat was put into a bowl ...

then all ingredients were added ...

mixed together and then set aside for the breadcrumbs to moisten ... flavours to blend ...

The next step was to heat some Olive Oil in a pan ...

add a few slices of onion and saute them ...

Once they were browned ... the onions were removed and the oil put into the large pot ...

Then adding jars and cans of crushed tomatoes .... seasoning ... 

The cooked ribs were then put into the sauce ...

The sauce was brought to a boil then turned back to simmer ...

While the sauce was simmering ... we sat down at the table to make the meatballs ...

Rosa had her own technique on making them ..

I paid close attention on how she rolled them in her hands ...

When the meatballs were all made ... they were placed into the oven to bake ...

The meatballs were finished baking ...

they were put into the sauce ...

Rosa then cooked up her homemade Gnocchi ...

(which I had learned how to make earlier this year) ...

Rosa had set the table for lunch ... made a salad ...

and I was served this delicious dish of 

"Rosa Special Meatballs and Sauce"

All I can say is "Bellissimo"

I enjoy spending time with Rosa ...

learning how to cook real Italian food ...

from someone who has cooked these meals ...

all her life ...

Thank you Rosa ...

 for taking the time to teach me ...

the recipes from your homeland ...

that were passed down thru the years ...

Let's Make Krapfen ...

July 4, 2016

Ella wanted to learn and help me with making ...

Bauernkrapfen

(Austrian Farmer's Doughnut) ...

These are one of Oma's favourite treats ...

we were introduced to them when we were in Austria ...

and Oh My Goodness ... they are a favourite of mine now ...

So this day we are learning together ...

as this is my first attempt of making Krapfen ...

Here goes ...

first we need to heat up some milk to melt the butter ...

Then Ella stirred in the sugar ... yeast ... eggs and flour ...

we then kneaded it and shaped it into a ball ...

placed it in a bowl ... covered it to let it rise ...

We ventured out into the garden ... the kids picking raspberries ...

peas and strawberries ...

James just had to taste one of the beans ...

I picked a Kohlrabi ... swiss chard and a Walla Walla onion ...

Ella helped eat the strawberries ...

checked out the cauliflower and broccoli ...

Then going for a quick quad ride ... and playing with Uncle Ian's duck marionette ...

James and Ella decided to go for a quick dip ...

waiting for the dough to finish rising ...

Little did they know that we were going to have a downpour of rain ...

The kids came in the house ...

ready for the next step in the process of making Krapfen ...

First punching down the dough ...

shaping it into a log ...

then cutting it into equal sized portions ...

James & Ella learning how to shape them into balls ...

setting them on the floured breadboard ...

leaving them to rise a bit ...

The two of them did a great job ...

James bailed on Ella and I ...

not sure what he was up to ...

The dough was then flattened ... it took me a bit of trial and error to getting the right shape ...

I decided to use the back of a label to help me shape and stretch the dough ...

Ella helped shape the rest as I was going to start frying them ...

In a pan with peanut oil in it ...

was then placed on the stove and heated up ...

the secret is to place the disc into the oil ...

and ladle hot oil over it to make the centre puff up ... until the underside is golden ...

then flip it over and continue to ladle hot oil into the centre ...

Once the Krapfen was golden underneath ...

it was time to remove it from the pan ...

drain on a rack ...

Then as you can see ... sprinkle some icing sugar on them and enjoy ...

James and Ella thought that Raspberry Jam would be a good idea ...

to put in the middle ... then sprinkle the powered sugar on ...

It tasted like a jelly doughnut then ... MMMMMMM

They loved them ... and thought I should make more ...

PS ... there were a few misfits until I mastered the technique ... !!!

 

 

 

Family from Vienna ...

May 21, 2016

Doris and Ernst were heading back to Vienna later in the afternoon ...

So we decided to go for a walk on the path along the Traun River ... for some exercise ...

We were also on the lookout for the good pools for fishing ...

We saw a fisherman out in the river ... and he did catch a Rainbow Trout ...

We did see a Pike in one of the pools ...

After our walk ...

we went to Bader for lunch ...

Klaus was not able to stay as he had to go to work ...

Ida and Paul had gone to the play area ... playing while waiting for their food ...

When we arrived back at Resi's ... she was busy making little braided breads ...

I was so excited to help her and learn how to form these breads ...

Each one was placed on a cookie sheet and sprinkled with rock salt and poppyseeds ...

Ida also wanted to learn how to make them ... sooooo ... I was delighted to show her how ...

We had fun making their little braided breads ....

Resi shared her diagram of how to shape the dough ...

Perfectly baked and taken out of the oven ...

Ready to take to Regina's house for dinner this evening ...

A lovely picture of the family ...

taken before they traveled back to Vienna ...

 

 

Oma's Favourite ...

 

May 16, 2016

After a goodnight's rest ... made my way down to the kitchen ...

where Resi was busy ...

Today I would get a lesson on making "Buchtelin" ...

a sweet dough ... flattened pieces with a Plum Jam filling ...

folded over ... edges pinched together and rolled ...

then placed into a pan ... to let rise and then bake ...

Once the Buchtelin were baked ...

they were served with a homemade Vanilla Sauce ...

Oma and Tante Paula ...

were thrilled to be invited over for fresh Buchtelin ...

These are one of Oma's favourite treats ...

This recipe was passed down thru the generations from my Oma ...

We sat around eating and visiting ...

then headed outside to check out Resi's garden ...

Oma was still adjusting to the time change and needed a little shot ...

for medicinal purposes only ... !!!

 

Making Gnocchi ...

February 17, 2016

It was an exciting morning for me ...

to head into town to learn how to make Gnocchi ...

from Rosa ... an Italian lady ...

She resides at Joseph Creek Village ...

and was thrilled to teach me how the dough is made ...

and the tools required to form them ...

Rosa taught me the technique with the first sections of dough ...

first rolling them into long thin strips ...

then cutting them into small pieces ...

Picking up the Gnocchi board and rolling them down to form the Gnocchi ...

It was my turn to try it ...

the first few were not very good ...

but with practise I was able to feel how to make them ...

We continued to work together ...

Rose rolling and cutting up the logs ...

while I formed the Gnocchi ...

Placing them on sheets ... to be put into the freezer ...

to freeze before they are packaged up into individual bags ...

(the freezing prevents them from sticking together)

Rosa also cooked a few of the fresh Gnocchi ...

and sprinkled them with freshly grated Parmigiana-Reggiano Cheese ...

Oh my goodness ... !!! "Bellissimo ... Gustoso ... Delizioso"

I placed an order for a Gnocchi Board ...

and it should arrive next week ...

My next lesson will be on ... How to make Ravioli ... !!!