Nick Malgieri 's Comments

The Modern Baker: Sicilian Fig Bars. Win a Free Cookbook. by Nick Malgieri

Dec 16, 2008 | comments: 63

Nick Malgieri Dec 18, 2008, 5:48pm EST

Thanks for all your great comments - I see we have a group of real cookie lovers here. Several of you mentioned cucidati, traditional Sicilian fig-filled Christmas cookies. My father was half Sicilian and I used to make them when he was alive - they have so many great flavors - cloves, cinnamon, apricot preserves, toasted almonds - some recipes even have caramelized sugar diluted with espresso as a flavoring.
Wishing all of you and your families and friends a joyous holiday season,
Nick

Modern Baker: Traditional Christmas Eve Focaccia from Bari in Apulia. Win a Free Cookbook. by Nick Malgieri

Dec 1, 2008 | comments: 73

Nick Malgieri Dec 2, 2008, 6:45am EST

Hi everyone and thanks for your comments. Again, I'm happy to hear that everyone's baking.

Dorine, I'll be right over to see if the fruit cake has matured enough! How do you keep those mince pies after thay've been baked? By the way, this focaccia is a component of the Christmas Eve dinner in Bari, so isn't really considered holiday baking, if you know what I mean. Can you share your exact shortbread recpe?

Mariana, what's dulce de huebo, something made from eggs? I'm familiar with dulce de leche, but this is a new one on me...

j-frugal, I think pepperkoeder are "pepper knots" and vanilla kranse "vanilla crowns" - I've plowed through so many Scandinavian cookbooks with a dictionary at my side, I still remember some of the words...

Mona, that sounds great - you should post that recipe one of these days.

Richard, the focaccia will bake very well in your wood-burning oven, I'm sure. By the way, you can use the dough above with just a topping of coarse salt and a drizzle of oil - it's great either way.

Jessie, just add a couple of tablespoons of chopped rosemary to the dough above when you're mixing it and you've got rosemary focaccia... Top with salt and oil before baking.

Madame Donna, you have the true holiday spirit, I admire you!

The Modern Baker: Roasted Pepper and Goat Cheese Tart. Win a Free Cookbook by Nick Malgieri

Nov 24, 2008 | comments: 51

Nick Malgieri Nov 29, 2008, 6:12pm EST

Thanks for all the great comments and recipes. Thanks also to those who saw the Bon Appetit piece and mentioned it - I haven't seen it yet myself.

Taking it easy after Thanksgiving and heading out to dinner with an old friend from my Switzerland Tourism days - we might go to Chinatown to my favorite place, Great NY Noodletown, but I'm not sure if she likes Chinese food!

Stay tuned - in the next few weeks we'll have a Christmas Eve focaccia from Bari in Apulia, fig bars with a Sicilian touch, a fabulous (and easy) marble cake that's great to have on hand when people drop in during the holidays, and an easy orange cake that's made with olive oil and it makes a perfect dessert for your New Year's celebration.

The Modern Baker: Cocoa Banana Muffins. Win a Free Cookbook. by Nick Malgieri

Nov 10, 2008 | comments: 60

Nick Malgieri Nov 22, 2008, 7:42am EST

WOW! We could all get together and do a muffin cookbook with all the fabulous recipes you posted, thanks so much.

Sorry to be SO late in reading your comments - I was away teaching in Texas for 10 days and didn't have much computer time aside from checking e-mails for about 10 minutes every day.

Thanks so much for your continued great comments - I'm having a wonderful time on Gather and it's all because of you.

The Modern Baker: Maid's Big Apple Pie. Win a Free Cookbook by Nick Malgieri

Nov 17, 2008 | comments: 73

Nick Malgieri Nov 22, 2008, 7:30am EST

What a thrill for me to read how many of you are baking for Thanksgiving! Keep up the good work... And thank you all so much for your great and enthusiastic comments.

I am a staunch traditionalist when it comes to Thanksgiving - I bake pumpkin pie, pecan pie, Maida's apple pie, and sometimes, if I know it will be well-received, mincemeat pie. The mince is a meatless recipe I developed about 20 years ago and is in my third book, How to Bake. I still have a couple of quarts of 1991 vintage mincemeat in the back of the refrigerator - I've promised myself I'll use it up before the 20th anniversary.

I'm a little late in getting to all your comments because I just got back from a whirlwind tour of Texas - San Antonio, Houston, Austin, Fort Worth, and Dallas - where I was teaching at all the Central Market cooking schools. Central Market is the food-and-beverage-only supermarket operated by the vast HEB grocery store chain and has a great selection of both American and imported foods - I sure wish I had one of them down the street from me.

This morning I'll criss-cross lower Manhattan and pick up all my pie-baking needs. First, D'Agostino's, my local supermarket, for staples; Kalustyan's, a great Turkish import store for fresh spices; my local farmers market for pumpkin from Mary, a South Jersey farmer who has both excellent produce and reasonable prices. I'll buy my apples from Chip Kent next Wednesday morning at the Union Square Greenmarket, the largest in the city. Chip is a fourth generation fruit and berry farmer and he and his Locust Grove Farm have been featured by Martha Stewart, the New York Times, and countless other newspapers, magazines, and media shows. We all love to tease him about being the "celebrity farmer."

Here are a few hints to make your Thanksgiving pie baking a success:

ALWAYS use a Pyrex pie pan, that way you can see if the bottom crust is sufficiently baked before taking the pie out of the oven - nothing is worse than a raw, mucky bottom crust.

ALWAYS bake your pie on the lowest rack of the oven, also to ensure that the bottom is well baked through.

NEVER put your pie on a cookie sheet or baking stone (sorry Richard!) - it will insulate rather than help the bottom to bake through.

WATCH the pie carefully while it's baking - if the top crust needs to color more as the filling starts to bubble (mostly for apple pie), raise the pie to the middle level of the oven for the last 15 minutes or so.

If you're afraid of drips that overflow and start to burn, slide a piece of aluminum foil onto the very bottom of the oven before you start pre-heating it.

Try adding a 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder to every cup of flour in your favorite pie crust recipe. The baking powder not only makes the crust lighter, but it also helps the crust to bake through better - sicne the crust has a filling weighing it down, it can't expand upward, so when it does expand, it presses even more firmly against the bottom of the pan, ensuring a well-baked crust.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! And thanks for all your kind comments about Maida - I'll print them out and mail them to her and post a message from her in December.

"In souple scones, the wale o' food!" by Blackbird Pie

Nov 7, 2008 | comments: 18

Nick Malgieri Nov 10, 2008, 1:59pm EST

Can't tell you how much I love finding a new scone recipe, going to try it first thing in the morning. And thanks for the hisorical perspective.

Re: The Stone of Scone - I remember reading that it resides under the seat of the throne on which English kings and queens are crowned, so I guess Westminster Abbey would be the right place.

Great report from Jonathan aboout Stone of Scone "intrigue."

TROPICAL TASTE - Malasadas by Sonia M.

Nov 1, 2008 | comments: 30

Nick Malgieri Nov 9, 2008, 6:13pm EST

Hi Sonia,

Loved the malassadas recipe - I collect recipes for Carnival pastries from all over the world and this is a new one on me...

The Modern Baker: Rosemary Olive Knots by Nick Malgieri

Nov 3, 2008 | comments: 32

Nick Malgieri Nov 4, 2008, 1:16pm EST

Hi everyone, thanks for all your great comments. Anyway they really are easy to make and taste terrific.

Donna, let us know what uses you dreamed up for the rolls.

Dorine, the crumb is nice and light and the crust just slightly crisp...

Richard, let me know how they turn out when you make them...

TROPICAL TASTE - Chicken Salad in Papaya Boat & Papaya Smoothies by Sonia M.

Oct 18, 2008 | comments: 23

Nick Malgieri Oct 27, 2008, 12:14pm EDT

Hi Sonia,

Thanks for the suggestion for the bread group. I'm just back from LA where I was teaching, then spent Saturday afternoon and most of yesterday exploring bakeries and Thai restaurants (my second great passion)...

Drop by when my first column goes up November 3...

Sardinia Pastries (with video) by Richard Frisbie

Oct 14, 2008 | comments: 21

Nick Malgieri Oct 20, 2008, 4:10pm EDT

Thanks Richard. The first column comes up around November 3 with a recipe for a knotted roll made with a no-knead dough. They're flavored with rosemary, chopped Gaeta olives, and a pinch of pepper. I hope you'll stop by and let me know what you think.

TROPICAL TASTE - Chicken Salad in Papaya Boat & Papaya Smoothies by Sonia M.

Oct 18, 2008 | comments: 23

Nick Malgieri Oct 20, 2008, 4:05pm EDT

Thanks Sonia... The Modern Baker was published in September and should be available everywhere - places like Jessica's Biscuit and Amazon.com have it discounted, too.
I'll be starting out here the first week in November with an easy recipe for Rosemary Olive Knots - a flavorful roll made with a no-knead dough. Theyre great with chicken salad, too...

Sardinia Pastries (with video) by Richard Frisbie

Oct 14, 2008 | comments: 21

Nick Malgieri Oct 20, 2008, 11:36am EDT

Hi Richard, Great video and recipe - I've been around Italy quite a bit but never to Sardinia, and I've always wanted to know how these are made - thanks so much.
During November and December I'll be posting some articles and recipes from my new book, The Modern Baker - hope you'll have a chance to stop by and let me know what you think.

The Culinary Tourist: A Grape Escape by Lisa Gensheimer

Oct 13, 2008 | comments: 45

Nick Malgieri Oct 20, 2008, 11:30am EDT

Hi Lisa, What a great trip through a wine area previously not known to me - and I live in New York City. I'll definitely put it right on the must-do list!
I see you also have a story about Ice Wine which would be a great accompaniment to some of the baking recipes and articles I'll be posting in November and December. They're from my new book, The Modern Baker - please stop by and say hi.

Paisano: German Potato Salad by Kevin Weeks

Oct 16, 2008 | comments: 18

Nick Malgieri Oct 20, 2008, 11:24am EDT

Hi Kevin, I'm going to add your Paisano German Potato Salad to my collection - I can never get enough potato salad or enough different ways to prepare it. I hope you'll have some time to stop by and see me in November and December when I'm posting some recipes and articles from my new book, The Modern Baker - no potato salad but plenty of other good things.

TROPICAL TASTE - Chicken Salad in Papaya Boat & Papaya Smoothies by Sonia M.

Oct 18, 2008 | comments: 23

Nick Malgieri Oct 20, 2008, 11:19am EDT

Sonia, I love your style - the salad and smoothie both look delicious... I'm new to Gather.com and I'll be posting some articles and recipes from my new book, The Modern Baker, starting at the beginning of November. Please stop by and let me know what you think.