My Italian Family Recipe

Graham Cracker Crust (Recipe)

Graham Cracker Crust

 

This simple and easy to make Graham Cracker Crust may be pressed into shells as is or baked before filling for cheesecake.

 

Raspberry Coulis Recipe

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Raspberry Coulis Recipe

 

This raspberry coulis recipe is easy and great over your homemade gelato or ice cream! 

Combine all ingredients in a blender then puree.  When smooth pass the mix through a strainer to remove the seeds.  Refrigerate after. You may also freeze your raspberry coulis in small amounts for future enjoyment.

Stracciatella Gelato (Recipe)

Stracciatella Gelato is a wonderful creamy Vanilla Italian Ice cream with chopped semisweet chocolate.

It is one of the top Gelato flavors enjoyed in Italy! You will notice it on display with its distinctive drizzle of chocolate on top!

 

Stracciatella Gelato

Makes 4 serving, but who am I kidding more like 1 for me! :)

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups whole milk (not low fat)
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 tahitian vanilla bean split from end to end

Method
Mix the cream milk and sugar into a suitable sized sauce pan. Using medium heat, cook the mixture until the sugar has dissolved into the cream.

 

Continue cooking until it begins to form bubbles around the edges of the pan. Do not boil!

Remove from heat, scrape the vanilla bean seeds and add them to the heated mix and drop in the bean pod. This will infuse the vanilla into the cream.

Let the vanilla steep into the mix for 35 minutes. Cover and refrigerate a minimum of 2 hours preferably overnight if possible.

Time to make Stracciatella Gelato!

Remove your mix from the refrigerator, remove the vanilla pod and mix in your chopped semisweet chocolate.

Transfer to your gelato maker, freeze using the instructions provided.

Raspberries with Rose Flower Water (Recipe)

 

  
 

Rose Flower Water was created by Muslim Alchemists during medieval times which was done through the distillation of roses.

You will find Rose Flower Water used in recipes in Italy, France and Iran and all over Western Europe.  It once was the most used flavor in baking until the arrival of vanilla.  Rose syrup is used in France as well as the United States.  You probably have had it and not realize it, it is found baked in scones and even marshmallows.

There are many Italian pastry recipes that have rose water as well as orange flower water in them.  Many of the pastries on Cook-Italian.com! use one or both!

This recipe is simple and Splenda may be used instead of sugar.

Raspberries with Rose Flower Water (print recipe)

Ingredients

2 Cups of the freshest raspberries you can find!

Sugar and or Splenda to taste

1 -2 cap fulls (about 1/2 teaspoon ) of French, Turkish or Moroccan Rose Flower Water, NOTE: a little goes a long way.  start with a 1/2 cap full and continue adding it to your preference.  I used 2 cap fulls

Method

Mix

And that's it!

Try it over vanilla gelato, add a spoonful into your lemonade or serve it alone with freshly whipped cream which is lightly sweetened.