Though it seems somewhat logical to assume the Neapolitans have only given us the wonder of three-flavored ice cream, it is also the pizza that originated in Naples. Considering its popularity, it’s hard to believe that the pizza is barely one-hundred years old, born in 1889 as a dish prepared during the visit of Queen Margherita. This most basic of pizzas, consisting of little more than dough, tomato sauce, mozzarella and basil (a classic Italian combination, symbolizing the colors of the flag and basically all that’s good in the world) started a culinary marvel that would soon span the globe. A Little Slice of Heaven…

As with many food lovers, I’m sure, my first experience with food was baking with my grandma. Baba and I would make bread and buns, where I would furiously pound down the dough with my little fists, cookies and, on occasion, we would even make doughnuts. I remember that we even made playdough on the stove top, which always kind of sucked, but was fun anyway. After all that childhood experience, you’d think I’d be endowed with superior baking skills.

As it turns out though, I’m not much of a baker. The recipients of some of my baked good may beg to differ, but baking and I don’t particularly get along. As much as I love the idea of the science involved in it, that there may in fact be a perfect harmony of ingredients and temperature that will yield the best baked good, that even altitude plays a role; I simply don’t have the patience for it. I can’t be bothered to measure things exactly. I don’t have a food scale. Actually, that’s a lie, we just only use it to weigh Harrison. I have difficulty following a recipe step by step. I don’t like that you can’t lick a finger of raw batter to determine whether the result is going to turn out right. Well, most of the time, anyway. Which is why I often delegate these types of duties to Shannon, who will meticulously follow a recipe to its every detail and yield predictable results every time, where I would be batting .500 (which is great for baseball but horrible for food).

This is why I love baking muffins.

Muffins…

2-1/2 teaspoons yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup warm water
4 cups flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon shortening
1 tablespoon butter, melted

1. Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water and let stand until foamy.
2. Sift together flour and salt. Stir the shortening into the wet ingredients and slowly incorporate the flour and salt until you have a soft, elastic dough.
3. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for several minutes, then transfer to a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a clean tea towel and put in a warm place to double in bulk, about an hour.
4. Pound down dough and return to the bowl. Cover and return to a warm place until doubled in bulk again.
5. To make buns, roll out dough to 1/2" thickness and cut out buns with the rim of a pint glass and place on a baking sheet. To make bread, cut dough in two and press into the bottom of greased loaf pans.
6. Return buns or bread to a warm place to rise.
7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
8. Bake buns or bread until golden brown and sound hollow when you tap on the bottom, about 45 minutes.
9. Brush the top of the buns or bread with melted butter to prevent drying.

Makes 12 servings

1/4 cup cornmeal
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
4 six ounce trout fillets
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon lemon juice
salt and pepper

1. Combine cornmeal, flour, garlic powder, oregano, salt and pepper and lay out on a plate.
2. Press the flesh of the trout into the beaten egg and then into the cornmeal.
3. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Melt butter in the olive oil, then cook the trout, cornmeal side down, until crisp. Flip and cook on the skin side until the center of the fillet is opaque.
4. Drizzle with lemon juice to serve.

Makes 4 servings

1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/2 warm water
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup warm milk
1/3 cup butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
3-1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
3/4 cup raisins

1. Combine yeast, warm water and 1 teaspoon of the sugar in a bowl and set aside until foamy.
2. In a separate bowl, combine remaining sugar, milk, butter, salt and eggs, then add the yeast mixture.
3. Gradually incorporate all of the flour until you have a smooth, slightly sticky dough. Add more flour if necessary.
4. Knead dough on a floured surface for several minutes, then transfer to a greased bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about an hour.
5. Punch dough down and roll out into an even rectangle about 1/4" thick.
6. Brush the dough with half the melted butter. Combine cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle a generous layer over the buttered dough, then arrange raisins over top.
7. Carefully roll up the dough tightly like a jelly roll and slice into 12 equal portions.
8. Coat the bottom of 2 baking dishes with remaining butter and sprinkle with remaining cinnamon sugar.
9. Place cinnamon rolls closely together in the pans. Let rise again in a warm place for another hour.
10. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
11. Bake cinnamon buns until they are golden brown. Serve drizzled with icing, if desired.

Makes 12 servings

1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon sugar
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup milk
1 cup corn kernels
4 scallions, chopped
1/4 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 ounces mild cheese, grated
salt

1. Combine flour, baking powder, paprika, oregano, sugar and a pinch of salt in a bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs and milk and gradually incorporate into the dry ingredients, making sure the batter is free of lumps.
3. Fold corn, scallions and red pepper flakes into the batter and refrigerate for a couple of minutes.
4. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil and drop about 2 tablespoons of the batter into the pan. Repeat 3 or 4 more times, leaving space between each fritter.
5. When the underside begins to brown and the top has set, flip the fritter and continue to fry the other side. Transfer to a warmed plate and top with cheese when finished cooking.
6. Repeat with additional batter and cheese, adding more oil as necessary.

Makes 4 servings

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2-4 veal shanks
1/2 cup flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup dry white wine
28 ounces canned plum tomatoes
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon dried basil or sage
1/4 teaspoon sugar
2 cups veal or beef stock
8 ounces fettuccine
1/4 cup Parmesan, grated
salt and pepper
water

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Heat a dutch oven or other ovenproof pot over medium heat. Melt butter with olive oil, the add onions and carrots, sautéing until onions are translucent. Stir in the garlic, then remove from heat.
3. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season veal shanks with salt and pepper and dredge with flour. Shake off excess flour, then add olive oil to the skillet and brown shanks on both sides. Transfer to the dutch oven on top of the vegetables.
4. Deglaze the skillet with wine and the juice from the canned tomatoes and reduce the liquid by half. Crush the tomatoes and add them to the skillet, along with the parsley, basil or sage, sugar and veal stock. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then pour over the veal shanks.
5. Cover the dutch oven and put into the oven, cooking until veal is tender, about an hour and a half.
6. Transfer the veal shanks to a warmed plate and keep warm. Bring the remaining sauce to a boil and reduce until thick.
7. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a generous pinch of salt, along with the fettuccine.
8. Cook pasta until al dente, then drain and add to the thickened sauce. Serve pasta and sauce on a plate, topped with the veal shank and a generous portion of freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Makes 4 servings

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup boiling water
or
8 flour tortillas
1-1/2 tablespoons sesame oil

2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 pound pork tenderloin, sliced
10 dried shittake mushrooms
6 scallions, chopped
12 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons ginger puree

3 tablespoons rice wine
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 eggs, beaten
1 head napa cabbage, chopped
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
water

1. Combine flour and water in a large bowl and stir into a soft dough. Knead until smooth and elastic, then divide into 16 equal portions.
2. Roll each portion of dough into a 6" circle. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Lightly brush each pancake with sesame oil and lightly cook on each side until puffed and browned. Remove from pan and repeat with remaining dough. Set aside.
3. Combine soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil and cornstarch and marinate pork for at least an hour.
4. Meanwhile, soak shittake mushrooms in boiling water until tender. Discard stems and slice. Combine with scallions, garlic and ginger and set aside.
5. Combine rice wine, soy sauce, cornstarch, sugar and pepper and set aside.
6. Heat oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Drain pork and discard marinade, then fry in the skillet until cooked.
7. Remove pork from the skillet and add the eggs. Quickly scramble them, then stir in the vegetables.
8. Return the pork to the skillet, along with the prepared sauce, and continue to cook until sauce is thick.
9. Spoon a portion of hoisin sauce onto each pancake and top with a portion of the pork mixture. Roll up and repeat with remaining pancakes and filling.

Makes 8 servings

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1-1/2 cups milk
6 ounces Gruyere, grated
1 cup plain yogurt of soft cheese
3 eggs, beaten
10 sheets phyllo pastry
1/2 cup butter, melted
salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for a minute or two.
3. Slowly whisk the milk into the saucepan and continue stirring until thickened.
4. Reduce heat to low and add the cheese, yogurt and eggs, stirring to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Lightly brush an oven proof dish with butter and lay a single sheet of phyllo on the bottom. Brush lightly with butter and top with a second phyllo sheet.
6. Alternate layers of the cheese mixture and phyllo dough, brushing each layer of phyllo with the melted butter and ending with a layer of phyllo.
7. Transfer to the oven and bake until golden brown, about 40 minutes. Let cool slightly before slicing.

Makes 8 servings

1 pound whole shrimp
1 medium carrot, chopped
1 medium leek, chopped
1 bay leaf
2 cups water

4 tablespoons butter
1 clove garlic, crushed
4 tablespoons flour
3 cups milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon dried dill
2 tablespoons lemon juice
salt and pepper

1. Shell shrimp and put shells, carrot, leek and bay leaf with the water in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook until vegetables are tender. Put through a strainer and season to taste with salt and pepper.
2. Melt butter with garlic in a large soup pot over medium heat, then whisk in the flour. Cook for about a minute.
3. Gradually whisk in the shrimp broth until fully incorporated, then add the milk, cream and shrimp meat.
4. Once the shrimp has turned pink, stir in paprika, dill and lemon juice. Adjust seasoning as necessary and serve.

Makes 4 servings