Author: Sista Felicia

Nutella Brownies with Nutella Butter Cream Frosting and Macerated Strawberries From Sista Felicia

Posted on by Sista Felicia

Happy Valentine’s Day…. Grandma Felicia always told me…

“The fastest way to a man’s heart is through his stomach”…and she was right!

Who doesn’t love Nutella? It has been a favorite of mine for many years, and has been a staple in my family’s pantries for as far back as I can remember. I can still see it lined up neatly on the second shelf, and left -hand side, of the center aisle of my grandfathers’ Italian variety store, Pats Center Grocery. I still enjoy the snack my Nona Rose prepared for me during my many visits to the store after school. Back then, most children snacked on PB&J after school, but Italian kids…we snacked on Italian toast with Nutella!

Today Nutella is gaining popularity, and justifiable so! It’s rich, creamy, chocolate, nutty flavor is out of this world delicious all on its own…but did you know combined with 2 other simple ingredients you could make one of the most decadent desserts known to mankind…Talk about “the fastest way to a man’s heart” …It’s only 3 ingredients away!

Nutella Brownies with Nutella Butter Cream Frosting and Macerated Strawberries

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Nutella Brownie Ingredients

1 cup Nutella Hazelnut spread

2 large eggs

10 tablespoons flour

Nutella Butter Cream Frosting Ingredients

1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup Nutella
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

2 tablespoon Hershey coco powder
4 tablespoons heavy cream

Macerated Strawberries Ingredients

1 pint fresh strawberries

½ cup sugar

1/4 cup Crème de Strawberry Fraise liquor

Garnish Ingredients

5 whole strawberries

 

Macerated Strawberries Step-by-Step

1 remove stems from strawberries using a paring knife, discard stems

2  slice strawberries in half, then into thirds or fourths depending on the size of the strawberry

3 place prepared strawberries into a mixing bowl and add sugar

4 combine ¼ cup Crème de Strawberry Fraise liquor with sugar and strawberries, mix well, and let rest on counter 1 hour

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Nutella Butter Cream Frosting Step-by-Step

1 combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, whip 2 minutes or until a creamy light textured frosting is formed

2 transfer frosting a pastry bag fitted with a star tip, reserve in refrigerator

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Nutella Brownie Step-by-Step

1 combine all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment

2 beat 1 minute on a medium speed (batter will be very thick)

3 generously grease and flour an 8×8 tart pan (I prefer to use Baker’s Joy non-stick spray)

4 using a rubber spatula, transfer and evenly spread batter

5 bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 25 minutes

6 remove from oven and cool 20 minute

7 remove the outer potion of the tart pan, and carful slide Nutella brownie onto a cake plate

8 using a pastry bag, fix 5 large dollops of Nutella frosting 1 inch from the outer edge of the brownie an, and top each dollop with 1 whole strawberry

9 pipe frosting around the top edge of the brownie

*Note~practice your pastry bag piping skills on a piece of wax paper

10  Slice into 5 equal slices, garnish with macerated strawberry

 

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*Note~ alternative serving option… omit Nutella frosting and simply dust the top of the Nutella Brownie with a generous dusting of confectioners’ sugar, and garnish with whipped cream and a generous portion of macerated sliced strawberries

Enjoy!

Sista Felicia’s Penne Pasta with Gorgonzola Cheese Spinach & Cherry Tomato

Posted on by Sista Felicia

Part of Her weekly Fresh from the Farm and Farmer’s Market Series

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Ingredients:
4 cups fresh spinach
2 cup cherry tomatoes
1 lb. Penne pasta
1 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
ÂĽ cup Parmesan cheese
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 cup pasta water

Directions:
Step 1: bring large pot of water to a boil; add 1 tablespoon kosher salt

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Step 2: bring water to a second boil, add pasta, and cook penne pasta until it’s soft but still holds its shape, al dente

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Step 3: while pasta is cooking place cleaned spinach into a large pasta serving bowl

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Step 4: Using a paring knife, cut each tomato in half

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Step 5: scatter cut tomatoes over fresh prepared spinach leaves

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Step 6: Crumble Gorgonzola cheese over the top of the spinach and tomatoes

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Step 7: using a large spider spatula carefully transfer al dente pasta over the spinach tomato and cheese

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Step 8: pour reserved pasta water over the top, and toss well using kitchen tongsimage

Step 9: top with a dusting of Parmesan cheese and freshly ground pepper

 

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Enjoy!

Taping of Bacala Video with Felicia and Sefatia Part 3 From Gianni Gallo and Joe Langhan

Posted on by Sista Felicia

Gianni and Joe are the men behind the Taste of The Times Videos at the Gloucester Daily Times Website- this is from them-

Felicia and Sefatia (“the Godmother”) got together to tape a segment on how Felicia’s Grandmother taught her to make a special bacala dish for the traditional Italian meal of the seven fishes on Christmas Eve. This is the third of three parts of the original footage. The entire shoot lasted over 45 minutes, which was edited down to a 10 minute video. (You can see that video at http://food.gloucestertimes.com/video/Baccala-Italian-Style-Codfish.html) Some have asked to see the entire production, with little or no editing. Here is Part 3.

Taping of Bacala Video with Felicia and Sefatia Part 2 From Gianni Gallo and Joe Langhan

Posted on by Sista Felicia

Gianni and Joe are the men behind the Taste of The Times Videos at the Gloucester Daily Times Website- this is from them-

Felicia and Sefatia (“the Godmother”) got together to tape a segment on how Felicia’s Grandmother taught her to make a special bacala dish for the traditional Italian meal of the seven fishes on Christmas Eve. This is the second of three parts of the original footage. The entire shoot lasted over 45 minutes, which was edited down to a 10 minute video. (You can see that video at http://food.gloucestertimes.com/video/Baccala-Italian-Style-Codfish.html) Some have asked to see the entire production, with little or no editing. Here is Part 2

Taping of Bacala Video with Felicia and Sefatia Part 1 From Gianni Gallo and Joe Langhan

Posted on by Sista Felicia

Gianni and Joe are the men behind the Taste of The Times Videos at the Gloucester Daily Times Website- this is from them-

Felicia and Sefatia (“the Godmother”) got together to tape a segment on how Felicia’s Grandmother taught her to make a special bacala dish for the traditional Italian meal of the seven fishes on Christmas Eve. This is the first of three parts of the original footage. The entire shoot lasted over 45 minutes, which was edited down to a 10 minute video. (You can see that video at http://food.gloucestertimes.com/video/Baccala-Italian-Style-Codfish.html) Some have asked to see the entire production, with little or no editing. Here is Part 1.

Coconut Shrimp with Mango Dipping Sauce From Sista Felicia

Posted on by Sista Felicia

Coconut shrimp is my daughter Amanda’s all time most favorite appetizer. Truthfully whenever she sees it on a menu, usually listed as an appetizer, she orders them as her meal! I have lost track of how many times she has asked me to prepare them for her at home. After a few attempts, and a little tweaking, I can honestly say, I have mastered Coconut shrimp! This recipe is supper easy to prepare and they are FANTASTIC melt in your mouth Delicious!

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Ingredients:

2 dozen large shrimp, deveined with shell removed (optional –keep tail shell on if serving as passed appetizer)

Marinade:

Juice of 1 lime

1 cup coconut milk

ÂĽ cup chopped cilantro

Crunchy Crust:

1 ½ cups Panko breadcrumbs

7 oz. sweetened coconut flakes

Beer Batter:

1 bottle of beer

1 cup flour

Mango dipping sauce:

2 table spoon of Stonewall Kitchen Mango Chutney

* (I’m a huge fan of Stonewall Kitchen products and always have their products in my pantry, although you can use other brands of mango chutney)

1 ½ tablespoon chopped red onion

1 tablespoon fresh ginger

1 garlic clove

ÂĽ teaspoon red pepper flakes

Juice of a ½ lime

2 teaspoon vegetable oil

1 ½ fresh mango peeled & chopped

ÂĽ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Step 1: Place shrimp, coconut milk, lime juice and cilantro in a zip lock bag and marinate in refrigerator for 24 hours

Step 2: Sneak into your husband’s beer frig and borrow 1 bottle of beer. Don’t worry he will only be upset for a few minutes. If he is anything like my husband, he will be happily in beer batter heaven with his first bite!

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Step 3: In a medium bowl combine beer and flour

Step 4: Using a wire whisk, whisk until you have a batter resembling a pancake consistency

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Step 5: Mix Panko and coconut in a pie plate

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Step 6: Place all Mango dipping sauce ingredients into a mini chopper and pulse 10 times

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Step 7: Transfer to a serving bowl

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Step 8: Remove 1 shrimp from marinate bag dip into batter

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Step 9: place battered shrimp in panko/coconut mixture pressing shrimp gently into coating

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Step 10: Carefully flip shrimp to coat other side

Step 11: Place coconut shrimp onto a waxed paper lined cookie sheet and repeat process with remaining shrimp

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Step 12: Chill coconut shrimp in freezer for at least 30 min (or overnight)

Step 13: Heat 1 ½ inches of La Spagnola oil in a med. fry pan over high heat

Step 14: Remove shrimp from refrigerator

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Step 15: Test oil temp by placing a few coconut flaks into hot oil, once it sizzles you know you oil is ready.

Step 16: Carefully place 6-8 coconut shrimp into hot oil using long cooking tongs

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Step 17: Fry 3-4 min or until golden brown and gently turn over each shrimp continue cooking 3-4 min until golden brown.

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Step 18: Remove from oil and cool on wire rack , repeating process until all shrimp are fried

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Step 19: Arrange, Golden, Crispy Succulent Beer Batter Coconut Shrimp on a serving platter with Mango dipping sauce.

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Step 20: Serve warm, and watch them quickly disappear!

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As you can see … a few didn’t make it to the serving platter. I simply couldn’t resist!

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Enjoy!