Timpana for Christmas!

Timpana is the ultimate pasta pie. Macaroni is cooked separately (to under al dente stage) and added to a rich bolognaise style sauce, often with chicken livers. With the addition of eggs, the mixture is cooked in a pastry case in either a deep dish or baking tray until its golden brown. This recipe uses bought puff pastry but I usually like to make it myself - its what we called a rough puff pastry, not as flaky but made with lots of butter!
This recipe can easily feed an army of people and it tastes just as good as leftovers the day after (if there is any left!)

Ingredients

500g puff pastry (frozen sheets)
500g  macaroni or penne
300g minced beef
300g minced pork
300g chicken livers, diced
300g bacon, finely diced
500g onions, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, crushed
150g parmesan cheese, grated
150g  cheese, grated (any other type)
7 eggs, beaten
200g tomato paste
200g tomato purée
500ml chicken or beef stock
150g butter
Salt and pepper

For glaze
100ml milk
1 egg, extra

Method
Preheat oven to 180˚C.

Sauté the onions and garlic in butter for 5 minutes.
Add bacon and pork mince, stirring well to separate.
Add beef mince and continue stirring, cooking for 10 minutes.
Add chicken livers  and cook for 5 minutes.
Add stock, mix well and bring to boil. Simmer for 20 minutes.
Add tomato paste and tomato purée.

While the sauce is cooking, cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until just undercooked.
Drain and mix with sauce, adding parmesan and tasty cheese.
Stir in beaten eggs.
Line a greased baking dish with the pastry, extending it up the sides.
Spoon in sauce and cover the top with another layer of pastry which has been pricked all over with a knife to let steam escape.
Beat together glaze ingredients and paint top of timpana all over.
Bake for 1 to 1 ½ hours.

Recipe adapted from one I found on an Australian site - There are more Maltese in Australia than there are in Malta!

Bragioli

Bragioli are often called beef olives although no olives are used! The 'olive' refers to the way the beef is wrapped round the stuffing but sometimes people use it as a name for the whole dish

A traditional Maltese beef dish, Bragioli takes some time to cook but preparation is simple.

This dish probably originated from the Sicilian 'Bragiol" which was one big rolled beef olive

INGREDIENTS

4 Thin slices of beef topside (aprox. 1lb /500 grams )

2 Diced onions

2 Diced carrots

100 gms peas (frozen will do)

3 slices stale white breadcrumbs

2 Hard boiled eggs -chopped

6 Slices of Bacon

1 bunch parsley

2 Garlic cloves

2 Bay leaves

Salt and pepper to taste

1 glass Red wine

Method

Set oven to 180C / 350F so it will heat up.

Beat each slice of meat flat with a kitchen mallet(or anything that will do!) until as thin as possible.

Chop the bacon, garlic and parsley.

Grind the bread to crumbs, then prepare the stuffing by mixing the crumbs with the chopped bacon, garlic, parsley and seasoning, but not the bay leaves. Add the chopped hard boiled egg.

Some recipes call for the egg to quartered and put on the stuffing and not mixed into it but i prefer this way.

Put a heaped tablespoon or two of the stuffing onto a slice of meat.

Roll up the meat slices lengthwise over the stuffing, and fasten together with wooden toothpicks.(traditionally, thread was used to tie up the bragioli and when removed after cooking they actually keep their shape really well. I tried using ordinary sewing thread and it worked!)

Pour some oil in a large pan, and brown the beef olives all over in this, together with the bay leaves.

Put the browned bragioli and bay leaves into a casserole dish.
Fry the sliced onion and carrot in the same oil.

Pour the wine over the frying vegetables.Let the sauce reach a slow boil and then pour this over the bragioli in the casserole dish.

Add the peas.

Simmer very gently for 1½ hours. You probably will have to add a little more wine to top up the braising liquid, but don't add too much, otherwise the bragioli will not cook correctly.

Remove the bay leaf and serve with your favourite vegetables or even a large portion of chips and salad. I prefer mashed, boiled or roasted potatoes.

Some trivia courtesy of the urban directory
"bragiole "Bragiole is an Italian meat roll, made from flank steak & seasoned with garlic, finely ground black pepper, Italian parsley, garlic salt, garlic pepper, and shredded pecorino/romano cheese, all rolled up and fried in hot oil, for addition to tomato gravy. (Some call it tomato sauce, but since you use the dripping from the fried meat to make the tomato "sauce", it's now "gravy".

Chocolate truffles

This is a really easy recipe that was given to me by a colleague at work. The success of these truffles depends solely on the ingredients used.
First decide on the type of chocolate - milk or dark? sweet, semi sweet or white. Whatever your preference try and get the best quality possible.
Next is your choice of the alcohol you will be using. If you want a coffee flavour, tia Maria or Kahlua mixed with some strong coffee powder should do the trick. Grand Marnier and some orange zest should make great orange flavoured truffles....and so on....use your imagination!

A quick note, you don't have to use alcohol - you can also use jam or fruit puree instead.

The truffles will then be rolled in powdered chocolate/cocoa powder - again, choose a good quality chocolate.You can also re roll in chocolate sprinkles.

The ingredients are just a few:
8 ounces (227 grams) chocolate, cut into small pieces. My preference is for semi-sweet
3/4 cup (180 ml) heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter
2 tablespoons alcohol (or jam)

Orange zest, coffee or whatever you have decided to use.

Powdered chocolate/chocolate sprinkles

Way to go
Place the chopped chocolate in a medium sized stainless steel bowl. You could also sue a food processor but don't grind too finely.
Heat the cream and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil.
Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes.
Stir with a whisk until smooth.
If desired, add the alcohol or flavoring
Cover and place in the fridge until the truffle mixture is firm .This can take a couple of hours so I find its sometimes better to leave overnight and continue the next day.

Shape the Truffles.

Decide on your coating - chocolate powder, can also just be icing sugar, again, imagination comes in handy! Put the coating in a large flat plate.

Remove the truffle mixture from the fridge

Here is the fun part... form the chocolate into round bite-sized balls, using your fingers - the faster and less contact with warm hands the better!

Roll the truffle in the coating and place on a parchment lined baking sheet or tray.

Cover and place in the fridge until firm.

Truffles can be refrigerated for a couple of weeks or else frozen for a couple of months.

Bring to room temperature before serving.

You can also place them in letter paper cups for presentation. They look so professional and are so yummy that they also make a great gift.

here in Arizona i can only do that in winter - its way too hot!!!