Ciao amici! Hello my friends!
Welcome back to my kitchen. I appreciate you visiting with me each week, especially since I understand how valuable your time is. Thank you! It has been a slow week for me. I was feeling a bit under the weather but back to normal now. Slow is not part of my life’s vocabulary. I’m like the famous bunny who keeps on going in the battery commercial. Lol! In fact, I enjoy staying busy and will always find a project or cause. This week in July is a bit somber for me. Dan’s birthday was on Sunday (yesterday) and our wedding anniversary is on the 14th.
Dan was an adamant Yankees fan. He said he would never forget our anniversary because it was a number associated with his beloved Yankees: Babe Ruth had 714 career homeruns! I vividly remember our wedding day, 21 years ago. It was his first and my second since I was widowed. My older daughter, Bridget, organized a perfect wedding party. She has an eye for detail and made sure everything was perfect, down to the cake and topper, the decorations, the music! My son picked up the food (we had a delicious brunch) that we shared with our immediate family members.
That same evening, we left for our honeymoon, a 14 day Mediterranean cruise that started in Barcelona, Spain and ended in Istanbul, Turkey. The stops in between were: Monte Carlo in Monaco; Florence, Pisa, Sorrento, Capri, Venice in Italy; Athens in Greece; Ephesus and Istanbul in Turkey. It was perfect…the weather, the stops, the ship, the food!
I have so many great stories from the trip but this newsletter would turn into a novel so I’ll just share a quick one.
We visited the Blue Mosque while In Istanbul. It was very hot that day. Dan, as usual, wore cargo shorts and a T-shirt. I wore a short sleeve, below the knee dress with a shawl because we were warned about the strict dress code there.
When we arrived at the entrance, the guards approved me but shook their heads at Dan. Shorts were not allowed even on men, despite the fact Dan’s cargo short were below the knee.
I felt so bad that I asked what we could do to be able to get in together. The guards felt pity on us and lent Dan a long skirt. So Dan had to visit the beautiful inside of the huge Mosque while wearing a skirt! I did take blackmail pictures though…. Lol! We were planning another memorable trip for our 20th anniversary but, unfortunately, Dan passed 8 months prior. We both loved to travel and I have not given up on it. I plan on visiting the places we never got a chance to visit together and enjoy them for the both of us. You see, I believe the people we love never die as long as they continue to be in our hearts. We keep the old memories alive but have to go on to make new ones.
That’s what our loved ones want for us…to continue to be happy and to enjoy every moment of our lives. Let’s make them proud. Happy Anniversary, my darling Dan!
I’m dedicating this week’s recipe to Dan, who had an obsession with Nutella!
Bacioni (Big Kisses)!
Nonna Antoinette
NUTELLA STRUDEL
Ingredients:
1 puff pastry sheet (from pack of 2, frozen)
6 tbsp Nutella, more if needed
Sparkling white sugar, aka coarse sugar
2 tbsp milk
Directions:
Take one of the two sheets of puff pastry out of the frozen package.
Lay it on a large sheet of parchment paper and allow it to come to room temperature. It should only take a few minutes.
Place the other sheet back in the freezer, well wrapped, to use another time.
Once the pastry sheet has defrosted, unfold it and even it out with help of a rolling pin.
The result should be an even thickness sheet, appropriately 12”long by 10” wide.
Spread the Nutella evenly over the middle section of the long side of pastry sheet, leaving a 1/2” bare lip on both top and bottom.
With a sharp knife, cut 1” horizontal strips, fanning out on both sides of Nutella section. They will look like wings.
Fold the top lip over Nutella so that it won’t escape during cooking. Repeat with bottom lip.
Beginning with the top right wing-strip, fold it over the Nutella section. Overlap with top left wing-strip.
Continue the process until all wing-strips are used and Nutella is completely covered.
Brush top with milk and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
Bake in preheated 400F oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden.
Remove from oven and allow to cool a few minutes before slicing.
TIPS:
This recipe is quick and easy once you get the steps. I promise you that the description is more complicated than the actual execution.
You can use more or less Nutella to your liking. I make a 1/4” layer since it seems the perfect amount. If you use more, don’t overdue it or it will spill out.
You can substitute preserve or custard for Nutella.
If you don’t have coarse sugar just use granulated one.
You can brush top with water if you don’t want to use milk.
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