My Great Aunt from Naples brought an "Easter Bread" Recipe to the USA. Every Easter, My Aunts, Grandmother and Mom would all get together and make about a Dozen Loaves of this Easter Bread! WE ALL looked SO Forward to it every Year! SO good with butter or toasted with butter or even as French Toast!
Unfortunately, the recipe seems to have been made for a cold house as they would leave it to rise for Hours, Knead it for over half an hour and baked far too long and even then it would be doughy in the middle sometimes, which, as kids we didn't mind
I've played with the recipe and think it's better, easier and faster now I'll add notes next to the original recipe so you can see what it was and if you need to do things longer, you have it as a gauge, incase you think you're going to long
Cecilia’s Easter Bread - 325° for 1 hour
for 1 Loaf
1.5 lbs. All Purpose Flour (4.25 Cups)
3 Eggs
2 pkts yeast (or 3 and 3/8 tsp (1/4+1/8) Instant Yeast)
4 oz. warm water
3/4 sticks (Unsalted) Sweet Butter - Melted
3/4 Cp Sugar
1.25 tsp Salt
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for 4 Loaves
6 lbs All Purpose Flour
12 Eggs
8 pkts Yeast
2 - 8oz. bowls of warm water
3 sticks (Unsalted) Sweet Butter - Melted
3 Cps Sugar
1.5 Tbs. Salt
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Dissolve yeast in warm water (2 bowls for 8pkts)
Put Flour in large bowl or pot
Make a well or depression in center
Add all ingredients into well (including melted butter and dissolved yeast)
Knead Dough very well for 1/2 an hour! (or until you can create a window when stretched)
Place Back in Bowl, Cover with towel and set in warm place to rise for 5-6 hours. (or just until Doubled in size)
Knock down the dough and set it aside to rise back up to previous size again or close. (Usually about 30 minutes)
Split loaves into 4 (for 4 loaf recipe),
Form into round balls/Loaf shapes
Place on Greased and Floured Cookie sheet and rest for 1 hour (or until doubled)
Bake at 325° for 1 hour or until it sounds hollow when tapped or internal temp reaches 190° - 200°
*it is a dry dough, so don't get concerned. After you make it the first time, If you'd like to make it softer, Add more water. The more water you add, the softer the dough & final bread becomes. I've made it softer and even made it in Loaf Pans. It's really good and reminiscent of Hawaiian bread! Pics also posted made in Loaf pan. Crumb is different.
let me know if you make it and how you like it!
If you want it in Grams, let me know and I'll post that too
+5
I made Chicken Parmigiana again last night! Last time, I baked it uncovered and the "Mozzarella" got too browned and crispy. This time, I baked it covered and it came out Great! I didn't take pics while it was hot but this afternoon, I took it out of the fridge to take a few pics to share.
About 348 mg of sodium per serving If you need to worry about Sodium intake and I also worry about Cholesterol so use Eggbeaters and vegan cheese.
2 large chicken breasts - 128mg sodium
1 8oz pkt Mozzarella Shreds - (I used vegan Violife because of a heart attack in our house 3 years ago 1520mg Sodium) But check Sodium in the cheese you use if you care ;-)
2 large eggs (beaten) - 142mg Sodium
(I use Eggbeaters at 150mg sodium)
2 cups seasoned breadcrumbs - 800mg Sodium
1 cup all purpose flour - 0mg Sodium
1 box spaghetti - 0mg Sodium
Sauce
1 16oz can of Tomato Puree - 195mg Sodium
1/8 tsp black pepper
(1/4 tsp of salt if you think it needs it)
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1tsp Dried Italian Seasoning
1tsp Dried Basil
1tsp Dried Oregano
1tsp Dried Parsley
1 tbs olive oil
Sugar to taste ( I usually just use a packet of Sweet n lo but only enough to kill acidity.. not usually whole package).
For sauce
I pour can in a sauce pan and rinse it out with a little water and put it in pot on low heat
Add seasoning and oil and stir.
Don't let it boil, just gently bubble. Stir periodically to keep it from sticking. Taste from time to time to see if you need more sweetener to cut acidity.
For cutlets
I bought a package of chicken breasts and they were large. (tenderloins are also good and very tender)
I took three, trimmed all fat off them and then sliced them thin, lengthwise.
Lay them flat, press your hand on top and place the night about a quarter of an inch above the cutting board and slowly slice from one end to the other under your hand. Continue until all sliced 😉. I probably got about 4-6 slices from each.
You Can also
Put Flour in one bowl
beat the 2 -3 eggs in one bowl (My mom seasons the egg the same way she seasons the sauce, skips the flour and just "marinates" the chicken in the Seasoned egg mix for half an hour or so.)
Put bread crumbs in 3rd bowl
Using one hand, (dry hand) dredge chicken slice in flour and gently shake off excess.
place in bowl with egg. Using other hand (wet hand) flip breast and dip then lift out and drip off excess
Then place in bread crumbs and with dry hand, cover one end with bread crumbs and pick up and flip over. Cover with more bread crumbs and Firmly press down.
Remove and place on plate until all cutlets are breaded
Once all cutlets are breaded, you can either Fry in a pan (with Olive oil) or bake in the oven. If you prefer to bake, place in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake at 425F for 10 minutes, flipping once and until lightly browned
If you fry, add some oil to a large frying/sauté pan and fry on each side until lightly browned
If cutlets are still slightly under cooked, it's ok as you're going to bake it later.
Once all cutlets are cooked, Sauce should be cooked enough too.
Start boiling water for Spaghetti and then start arranging Chicken.
Cover the bottom of a baking pan with some sauce.
Place half the cutlets on the bottom in a single layer.
Cover cutlets with some sauce and top with half the mozzarella
Place rest of cutlets over the first layer and put more sauce and rest of mozzarella.
Cover with foil and bake at 425F for 20-30 minutes or until cheese is melted.
I use a 9x13 baking dish, but if you have a smaller one and enough cutlets, you can make it 3 layers but you will want smaller pieces 🙂
While Chicken is baking, boil pasta (aldente), drain and add remaining tomato sauce to pasta.
I get 8 servings servings from the Chicken but we have big appetites. With the pasta as a side, it's still only a total of only 348 mg of sodium, No cholesterol if you use egg beaters. The Cheese is a total of 6mg of Saturated fat and the saturated fat in the Olive oil
How do you make Your Meatballs? Do you use Breadcrumbs or Bread? Parmesan or none? Fry them or bake them before adding to the sauce?
Here's how my Sicilian Grandmother always made them and how we all make them today
For every pound of ground meat (beef, pork, chicken, turkey or what ever meat or blend you use)... Again, Always ignore the Sodium Content if you don't need to worry about it and add 1/4tsp of salt to this mix (or more if you prefer)
3 slices of white bread, crusts removed, (I use Nature's Own at 90mg a slice). Wet it in either water or milk. Should turn to Mush.
Add 1 egg and scramble all together.
To this add:
1/2 tsp each dried Basil, Oregano, Parsley, Italian Seasoning.
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp black pepper.
Add meat and mix well!
Scoop some meat out and roll into the size you'd like... ping-pong ball, golf ball... what ever.
I like to make them all, the go back and re-roll in my cleaned hands again as I drop them into the sauce to cook.
Let it simmer about 30 minutes. Should be cooked by then 😉
Of course, always adjust to your taste... add some grated cheese if you prefer it, add fresh crushed garlic if you like, fresh parsley, etc to the meat before rolling. I have even seen meatballs with a small cube of Mozzarella pushed into the middle.
SHRIMP PARM
Who Else on here makes Shrimp Parmigiana?
We Love it but because of Health issues, really cant eat it too often.
If you haven't eaten it, I Recommend trying it!
It's not even that complicated..... More procedural than recipe.
Here's what I do... I bought the Colossal shrimp... Estimated about 4 shrimp per portion for Large portions.... And it was too much...
Cut them down the middle (like butterflied but all the way through)
Dredge in flour.
Dip in egg
toss in Seasoned breadcrumbs... but Really Press them on!
Cover the shrimp and Press, Flip and do the same, move to a plate. Bread all the shrimp.
Heat EVOO or canola oil in a pan... about half an inch... Don't get it too hot as breading will burn before you can get the last shrimp in the pan. Not hot enough and the shrimp will over cook.
transfer cooked shrimp to a paper towel lined plate to drain.
Then put some sauce (either your favorite or one I've previously posted) about 3-4 tbs.... on the bottom of a pan (I use a small frying pan)
Layer half of the shrimp halves on the bottom
Put more sauce on top of them... not too much though.. .then sprinkle a little Shredded Mozzarella cheese on them. (add a few dollops of Ricotta cheese here and there if you like it really cheesy)
Top with remaining layer of shrimp halves
and again, cover with sauce and cheese.
Bake uncovered in oven about 10-15 minutes (20 if you like it browned like I do)
Mangia! Buon appetito!
+5
Seasoned Pizza Dough
2 - 2 1/3 cp Flour
2.25 tsp yeast
1.5 tsp sugar
* 3/4 tsp salt (I usually skip this, but it's 1744mg sodium )
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
2 tsp Italian seasoning
* 2 tsp Parmesan cheese (I use either, Violife vegan parmesan or loso grated cheese blend. Be sure to add Sodium to total)
2.5 Tbs Olive Oil
1 cp warm water
IF you would like more seasoning, by all means, add more.
I also find a bit more (1/8 - 1/4 cp) water makes it a bit softer when cooked... but tougher to knead as it’s Very sticky
Rest 1 hour to rise/double - could only be 30 minutes, depending on temperature as lo or no salt can speed rise.
bake 12-15 minutes at 425
Make your own sauce with no salt added or buy one of the loso sauces listed above
For the Cheese, Which ever you use, Just be sure to check the sodium amount of what you use and divide it by the number of slices you cut. Because Animal fat is bad for my other half because of heart attack, I use Violife Vegan Mozzarella.
For toppings, I use, Mushroom, Onion, Pepper, Spinach and any other veggies I may have... Sometimes I even add shrimp!!
BUT.... I use frozen veggies and I microwave them first, then squeeze them out in a tea towel, to remove as much water as possible, otherwise the pizza gets soggy in the middle.
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