The Gingerbread House is typically associated with Christmas but I don’t see why you couldn’t use a gingerbread design to celebrate many of the Holidays we share this time of year.  It doesn’t even have to be a house, the beauty of gingerbread is you can carve it and make it into just about any design you desire.

Now it all starts with a good, simple recipe that is easy to cut into shapes and holds those shapes well when it bakes.  I found this one on Epicurious.  This makes plenty of gingerbread to build a good sized design.  If you plan to eat the gingerbread, I would add more of each of the spices.  It’s good as is, but for my tastes, it would be better with a bit more spice.  Oh and you don’t need to let the dough sit for 6 hours.  1 hour is really all the dough needs.  So start out by making your dough and get it into the fridge to chill.

Now create a design.  That same recipe offers a great starting point with a simple house.  I recommend actually drawing out their house on paper or cardboard and assembling it to give you a sense of scale and how much the gingerbread will build.  I felt like I had enough gingerbread to make about 2 of those houses from the amount of gingerbread the recipe made.  Now that you know the scale of the original house, design something yourself.

I was inspired by a classic 1970’s TV home.  No particular reason other than it seemed like a silly, fun thing to build.  So I started by drawing and cutting out the various pieces.

You really need to draw it all out AND assemble the house to make sure it all comes together.   I highly recommend an Xacto or Sheetrock knife to cut the paper using a straight edge.   Just tape the pieces together and make sure it comes together like you want it to.  Oh and label all the pieces so you remember what they are when you break the template apart to cut the gingerbread.

The roof was the trickiest part because it’s a two piece roof with a long slope on one end of the front of the house with a side roof coming in at a steep angle.   I was able to make it work, not perfectly but good enough to cover the mistakes with icing later.

Now it was time to cut the shapes into gingerbread.   I put parchment paper on either side of the dough as I rolled it out to keep it from sticking to the board and the roller.  Then laid the template shapes onto the dough and cut through both layers of parchment.  Remove the top layer of gingerbread, but LEAVE the bottom layer attached to keep it from sticking to the baking pan.

Something to keep in mind is that any pieces that will be inside the house and not seen, such as supports for the roof, can actually be cut out of stiff cardboard.  There’s no need to bake interior supports.  This was my very first gingerbread house so I didn’t think of that, but I will next year!

Now you bake the pieces, let cool completely and start assembling.  Well actually I recommend you do a bit of the decorating while the pieces are flat as it’s easier.  The royal icing was always a bit too thick, it really does need to be a bit thinner to be more sticky to hold the pieces.  Just cut the corner of a ziplock bag to use for piping the icing.  As you assemble, anything that you have pre-attached to the walls may fall off, but you can just stick them back on.

Be sure to have a nice solid platform to build your house on such as a thick cardboard base.  I cut a piece of thick cardboard and covered it with parchment paper.  This makes it easy to move the house around once it’s built.

I’ll admit the initial assembly of the house was a bit ugly.  Could not get the first three walls to stand up square.  I ended up putting a piece of cardboard in as support to help these first pieces stay up and used a few coffee mugs to keep the very heavy “gumdrop wall” from falling forward.  Then it was actually fairly easy to get all the walls up.  Some of the baked walls didn’t quite line up, but that’s what icing and decorations are for!

For trimming the baked pieces, you need a REALLY sharp knife, such a straight razor knife and a light touch.  Just let the sharp blade do all the work with just a little pressure.  It took me about 10 cuts across the gingerbread to get it to cut all the way through, but I didn’t break anything and got clean cuts.

So this project took one day.  A lazy Sunday afternoon and it was fun.   It was a reminder that the Holidays should be fun.  So get your hands a little dirty, make something silly and have a little fun!  Save the stress for when you’re back in the office.

Oh and in case you’re wondering, it was “The Brady Bunch” house that was the inspiration for my design.  I drew my design from this photo.  Why be normal, right?

The post Take Time for Fun over the Holidays! appeared first on WalterBiscardi.com.

One of the biggest problems for me is keeping track of all my recipes.  Not only family recipes passed down, but even those I find online.  Bookmarking online recipes and storing printed recipes in files and such, well it became frustrating to find anything when I literally have 1000’s of recipes around.

2 years ago I found the Paprika Recipe Manager and holy cow, did that bring a complete change to how we store recipes,  cook and shop.   It works on pretty much every device and every OS which is great when you have Mac, Windows, Android and iOS devices in the house like we do.    I have the app on my MacBook Air, Samsung Galaxy Tablet and my iPhone.    Here’s what it looks like on the Mac.

Not only are all of my recipes stored in the app, but you can see everything is easily categorized, even with subcategories like you see in Dessert and Indian.  My wife is a Vegetarian so for each cuisine I separate the Vegetarian dishes to make it super easy to find those.

The BEST part about this app is the Browser feature.  It’s a built in web browser so I can search for and save online recipes directly within the app.   Here I’m on the Food Network website and I searched for grouper and selected this great sounding recipe from Bobby Flay.

  You see down on the bottom right of the page the “Save Recipe” button.  Simply click that and….

Paprika grabs all the pertinent information to create a new recipe card in the app.  I’m selecting Seafood from the drop down category list.    Click “Save” and…..

I have the full recipe card ready to go including a funny picture of Bobby Flay and his cat.   That was the only photo on the page so Paprika grabbed it thinking it was the photo of the plate.  I can easily change that photo when I make the dish or go look for a photo of it.   If the app can’t grab the recipe automatically you can go see in the earlier images the buttons for “Name,” “Ingredients,” “Directions” and so on at the bottom of the screen.  This allows you to manually highlight the individual elements of the recipe on the page and automatically bring them into a new recipe.  It’s quite easy for sites that for whatever reason won’t automatically import.

My wife found this AWESOME gooseneck tablet stand for the Samsung Galaxy tablet that we keep near the stove and use it like a cookbook stand.  It keeps the tablet raised up off the counter so it’s out of the way of ingredients and the base weighs about 3 pounds so it’s solid and won’t get knocked over easily.   It’s a universal stand so it works with multiple types of tablets.

Most recently I’ve been loading up a lot of mixology recipes as I have been exploring the wonderful world of cocktails.  So if you like to cook or only cook on occasion, I highly recommend this app to get you organized and allow you to be more creative in your cooking.

The post Managing your Recipes. Another “Get A Life” tip appeared first on WalterBiscardi.com.

Food Network judge and author, Simon Majumdar is traveling and eating his way across America for his new book, “Fed, White and Blue.” Just like the book, he’s invited Americans to suggest locations to visit and if you’re lucky, he’ll even come prepare a meal for you. I was fortunate enough to host Simon and his lovely wife Sybil during his stop here in the Atlanta area (Buford, GA) and what transpired was a truly fun evening of great food and conversation. It was obvious that not only does Simon share my love of cooking, but he shares in the joy of preparing good food for others and that community experience that is created by enjoying food together.

Simon prepared grilled lamb chops, life saving daal, a chicken korma and a vegetarian cauliflower korma and topped it all off with a berry crumble. I chipped in by including something from my old show, and Simon’s friend, Alton Brown’s shrimp cocktail which I prepared as a hot grilled shrimp dish. Beyond the cooking you’ll find out the history of Gin and Tonic, Simon’s favorite Doctor Who actors and a few really bad jokes along the way.

So enjoy Simon’s cooking, his humor and his love of life. You’ll find many recipes on simonmajumdar.com and you can also see if the #FedWhiteAndBlue tour is headed to your area. If you don’t see a stop, reach out to Simon and Sybil. You never know, they just may show up your town. This video is decidedly low-key and more “WallyCam” style than my broadcast work. But this evening was all about enjoying the evening with Simon and Sybil and less about “being professional. Enjoy!

WalterBiscardi.com is advice, inspiration & training from working creative professionals on all aspects of the creative industry from pre-production to post to growing your career and business. Learn from working editors, photographers, sound designers, colorists, producers, directors and more to not only learn the basic skills, but real-world, insider knowledge on getting the right job and then building your career in the Film, Television and Creative Media Industry.

Sometimes we reach outside the industry and remind you to enjoy and “Get A Life!”

The post Get A Life! | Cooking with Simon Majumdar #FedWhiteAndBlue appeared first on WalterBiscardi.com.

This first shoot was set up to accomplish two main objectives.  Start production for my new Contemporary Living Network and to serve as a camera / workflow test for 4k UHD.  I’ve read and researched as much information as I can on the various cameras (Marco Solorio and Erik Naso especially have great info out there) but there’s no real way to know what is going to work unless you try them out.  In our case, we’re producing lifestyle programming that can lead to all sorts of lighting and production situations.  As with any other format, there is NOT a “single camera fits all needs” out there yet for 4k UHD. We’re probably going to end up with multiple cameras and send them out depending on what the production situation will be.  Let me give a great shout-out to LensRentals.com where it’s quite affordable to test out cameras, lenses and lots of other production gear before you buy.  Rent some gear, try it yourself and make your own decision if a camera will work for you.

And keep in mind, I’ve been an editor for almost 25 years and Post is my primary expertise.  The shooting thing has kind of happened as the cameras have become smaller.  I really know what I want to see in the edit suite and this evolution of small camera and high quality image has really helped me bring my editor’s eye to both directing and cinematography.   So here’s a first look at our entry into the world of 4k UHD shooting.

Two complete GH4 rigs from LensRentals.com

For this first shoot, we decided to go with the Panasonic Lumix GH4 for our primary hand held cameras.  Two camera shoot, shooting 4k / 24p (23.98) at using Panasonic’s highest quality 100mbps  setting.  Through LensRentals.com I rented two GH4 cameras with Wooden Camera cages, got 4 extra batteries with 2 chargers, 4 of the 64GB SAN Disk 280mb/s cards, and 2 Lumix shotgun mics which are great because they use phantom power from the camera.  For lenses I went with Panasonic 12-35mm with stabilization for both cameras plus one 35-100mm zoom to have one hand in case we needed it.    The 64GB cards will shoot 1 hour, 23 minutes at the 4k / 24p / 100mbps settings on the camera.   The batteries run a long time too.  We were going 3 hours at least before switching batteries.   I also purchased two of the Vello triple hot shoe adapter so we could mount the shotgun mic and mini camera light on the same camera.  In addition we used my Digital Juice MiniBurst 128 LED light on the camera.

One lens actually arrived with a bad crack right in the middle of it, LensRentals overnighted us a new one, but we had to start shooting the first day with one of my old Canon 28mm FD lenses from 1983 via my Metabones FD to Micro 4/3 adapter / speedbooster.   It worked surprisingly well.

GH4 with my Vello hot shoe adapter and the Digital Juice MicroBurst 128 LED light

In addition, we took delivery of a new Blackmagic Design 4k Production Camera which we didn’t expect to arrive so quickly.  That camera is a bit unwieldily for handheld shooting without at least a basic cage around it plus we have to set up external batteries for it since you can’t swap out the internal one.   We simply didn’t have enough time to rig it correctly for handheld shooting so we used it locked down on a tripod as our “wide expose the set” camera using a Canon 15-55mm EF lens.   I purchased a 480GB SanDisk SSD for this first shoot using the specs for the drive in the BMD Operators Manual.  In 4k ProRes, I could get approx. 1 hour 24 minutes recording.  In 4k ProRes LT I could get 2 hours 40 minutes recording.  We went with the ProRes LT setting for this shoot since we’ll most likely use a black and white / grainy effect on this camera.  In case you’re wondering, in 4k RAW there’s only 25 minutes record time on that 480GB SSD.  I also purchased a USB 3 SSD Dock to transfer the data.

“Fork U” Producer April Simpson checking the shot on the 4k Production Camera

I also packed up about 8TB of external drives to make sure I had PLENTY of room to dump and backup all the data.   In addition, I picked up a new SanDisk card reader that included a slot for the MicroSD cards that are used by the GoPro Hero 3.  They seem to work better reading directly from the micro card when you don’t have to use an SD card adapter for them.

About 8TB of FW800 and USB3 drives for both transferring and cloning the data.

Shooting with the GH4

If you’ve shot with DSLR cameras in the past and feel comfortable with them, the GH4 will be a very natural shooting camera for you.  I personally prefer using the onboard viewfinder vs. the LCD screen on the back as I feel like I can control the focus better that way.   The focus is very tight with these lenses with a lot of DOF.  As I have to continually adjust focus during the action, I find it easier to stay concentrated on that work when looking into the viewfinder.   The viewfinder on the GH4 is very sharp and does have a focus adjust so you can set the focus for your eyes.

The MOST annoying thing about this camera is a “focus assist” box that automatically appears when you touch the focus when the camera is not recording.  If you’re just trying to set a shot or look at a setup, the moment you start focusing, the “focus assist” box comes into view and honestly gets in the way of setting just looking at the scene.  I could not figure a way to disable that feature, might be there, but I let it go since we were renting the cameras.

Through all the reviews, I knew the GH4 was not a great low light camera so that was going to be the main thrust of our testing with the camera, how low does the lighting have to be for the picture to be “bad?”.  We shot in all sorts of locations including a large farm market, multiple retail stores and a tavern.  We only used GH4s for these locations and they performed extremely well.  We never got into what I would really consider a “low light” situation, there was always enough light on-hand between what was available in the stores and the little MiniBurst LED light.  Certainly non-optimal lighting in some cases, but nothing terribly low.

The other issue I was concerned about with the GH4 is the rolling shutter.  A rolling shutter means the entire frame of the image is not recorded at once.  A portion of the image is recorded microseconds ahead of the rest of the image, generally the top portion of the image.  You see this clearly when a camera flash goes off in a room and you see the flash across the top of the image first and then the rest of the image.  Where it can also be an issue is during quick pans and zooms.

Shooting Fork U with Cheryl Collins

Fortunately, we saw no issues with the rolling shutter and I even did some snap pans and zooms specifically to see if it would show up.  Going frame by frame on playback in the edit suite later, did not show any evidence of rolling shutter problems.   That was a nice find.

The white balance controls were particularly awesome allowing us to simply dial the lighting temperature to whatever we wanted.  We would just look at the situation we were in, bring up the manual white balance adjustment and just tweak one of the cameras till we hit the color we liked.  Then dial the other camera to match.  Super easy and super clean.   Colors looked great back in the edit suite.

One thing Erik Naso warned me about, and came to pass, was locking down the shutter wheel.  It’s on the back of the camera where your right thumb sits if you’re holding onto the camera itself.  While shooting, my thumb kept hitting that wheel and making changes on the fly to the shutter speed.  Our goal was to stay in 180 but every so often I would look down and see that it had changed in one direction or the other.   Erik recommends taping that wheel down once you have the shutter set and I concur.

On Erik’s recommendation we kept the ISO setting as low as possible shooting from 200 – 400 only.   We didn’t have the need to go any higher.   He doesn’t recommend going over 800 and I don’t really see a reason for that either unless you’re going for a grainy look shoot.

We set both cameras up to roll time of day timecode and that seems to have worked quite well.  Timecode shows up on all the clips and they’re pretty darn close to each other.  No jam sync’ing, just setting the clock and letting it go.   By using time of day timecode that means we could have someone logging our shoot on the fly using a clock.  Sure the TC wouldn’t be frame accurate but it’s close enough for us to find the good takes and where shots are that we’re looking for quickly.

Shooting with the BMD 4k Production Camera

As I said earlier, we didn’t expect this camera so quickly (thank you Blackmagic!) so there was no time to rig it correctly for handheld shooting.   We locked it down on one of my photography tripods to do a wide ‘expose the set’ type of shot using an EF lens from my Canon 30D still camera.   That worked surprisingly well.  Just snapped the lens on and away we went.

Setting up the 4k Production Camera on location

Actually the first location we used it mounted on top of a Gorilla Pod that’s missing one of the legs (tree fell on it) and shoved the camera back into a kitchen cabinet.   The kitchen was pretty small so it was the only spot to get the overhead shot I was looking for.  Blackmagic putting a record button the FRONT of the camera was a huge help in this situation since I couldn’t see or access the back of it while it was in the cabinet.

Blackmagic 4k “Cabinet Cam”

The camera features a touchscreen on the back for all the settings and menu controls.   With the latest updates we can finally format the drives inside the camera which is awesome.  Changing all the camera and record settings is quite easy and efficient using the touch screen. When the camera is in regular operation mode, simply touching the screen brings up the slate.  This is great when you’re handling the camera normally where you can see the back of it.   When it’s mounted inside a kitchen cabinet where you can only access the front, well that can cause a bit of a problem.  Every time I reached up to move the camera position I would invariably touch the back of the camera.  This would bring up the slate and when the slate is visible, you can’t record.  The slate does NOT appear on the SDI output from the camera so the only way I knew the slate was up was to hit the REC button and nothing would happen.  Minor annoyance that we worked around.

One other annoyance was that the Time Remaining on the SSD did not display on the SDI feed either.   Everything else did and I had the Menu setting to “Display All” information from the camera down SDI.   Again, since I couldn’t see the back of the camera, we used a iPhone timer to roughly calculate how much time we were recording on that camera during that one day of shooting.   It was in there all day so every so often I would pull the camera out to double check the time remaining.

SDI output to the Flanders Scientific 1770W.

The SDI output from the camera can be downconverter to HD which is what we did to feed the on-set Flanders Scientific 1770W monitor.  Beautiful picture even in the downconvert.

The biggest issue with the BMD camera and trying to use it “naked” as Marco Solorio would call it, is that the display screen has a VERY narrow field of vision.  You have to be looking STRAIGHT on to that screen for it to be useful.   Once you move off to the side, it becomes very dark very quickly and very tough to use it to even just set up a shot.    Marco has an awesome book called “Rigging the Cinema Camera” which I’m going to use to rig this camera up for ENG / shoulder mount style shooting complete with a proper eyepiece viewfinder which will take care of that situation.

The 4k Production Camera does feature a global shutter which records the entire image at once, so no issues with rolling shutter.  High speed camera moves and high speed action in frame are no issue with this camera in terms of creating a “torn image” ala what a rolling shutter could create.

BMD Touchscreen

Marco recommended staying 800 ASA or below and that’s what I did.   I brought it up to 800 in a tavern we shot in the very last day as it was the darkest location, but the image still looked beautiful.  I simply matched the white balance temperature on the BMD to what we set with the GH4 and the image was remarkably similar.

Not too much else to say about this camera yet as we pretty much just locked it down and let it roll.   Once we get it rigged up properly for handheld shooting I’ll have a lot more to say.

Lighting the Set.

Lighting for the sets was ridiculously simple.  I have this three light Impact kit which features three soft boxes that each hold four fluorescent lights.

The kit comes with twelve 5000k bulbs of 100 watt equivalent but I find that makes the lighting a bit too blue.  Especially in field locations where most of the lighting is still incandescent for the most part.   So what I did was purchase six 2700k light bulbs, 100 watch equivalent from the local hardware store.   For each lightbox I install two 5000k bulbs and two 2700k bulbs which essentially “puts a gel” on the lightbox and softens the blue to a more natural lighting color.   Works extremely well and depending on the situation we used two or three of these lights and if any fill was needed, we used the MicroBurst 128 or an Ikan LED light I rented from LensRentals.com.

Using the Impact lights at a Tavern location. Only needed two to give enough light.

All in all we didn’t have to use anything different in the lighting as if we were lighting for an HD DSLR.  The 4k cameras didn’t seem to require anything special or “much more” in the way of lighting than what we were used to.   We shot in two different home kitchen locations and in both cases, a combination of available, natural and fluorescent lighting worked out perfectly fine.

Recording Sound.

For sound recording I recently purchased the Zoom Handy 6 recorder which features 4 discreet microphone inputs along with a stereo natural sound recording pair.  These are great little field recorders and they have a handy shoulder strap mounting point to wear it over the shoulder.

Producer April Simpson manning the Zoom H6

We set up a shoulder strap with three pieces of industrial velcro and simply velcro’d the three wireless mic receivers to it.  Made for a SUPER efficient sound recordists setup so they could walk around easily, yet be fully wired up with headphones and easy access to the audio controls.   For the headphones I pulled out our awesome Sennheiser set we use in our audio booth.  These are the “suck to the head block out all external sound” headphones which are critical when you’re out in the field.  If you hear it in the headphones, then it’s in the audio.  Oh, a shoutout to my good friend Marion Laney for letting me borrow his wireless mics.    Still trying to figure out which ones to buy and he let us try out his for this shoot.   Super nice guy and an AWESOME D.P.

Syncing the Sound.

Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, beats a proper audio slate when shooting multiple cameras with externally recorded audio.  In our case we generally had the three cameras rolling and on occasion we added a GoPro Hero 3 to the mix.  Hand slaps are good, but getting a good, crisp CLAP from a proper audio slate is priceless.  I picked up this little 7” x 7” from B&H for around $30.  The only negative to it is the magnet in the clapper to help hold it shut so you have to be careful not to put it around electronics or your cards or harddrives.  I’m planning to extract that magnet out soon, but it’s a great tool.

Marking a take

Also remember to do an audio slate too.  Such as “Fork U, Scene 101, Take 2” audibly into a microphone before you mark the take with the slate.   This makes it very easy to find takes via the Zoom recorder which records files as “Zoom 001”  “Zoom 002” etc…..  Simon Majumdar was especially good at this.

Final Thoughts.

All in all a very smooth transition from what I know and have produced in HD to the 4k world.   Files are a lot larger, you need more hard drives on the set and need to allow more time to transfer the data.  If possible, take more camera cards and SSDs so you don’t have to transfer as much.   The single SSD for the BMD 4k really was insufficient so we had to be careful and minimize roll time because it would take too long to transfer the data, over an hour, and I couldn’t have the crew sitting around waiting on the data transfer.

Chef Simon Majumdar handing Cheryl Collins some steak while rolling. No fourth wall on Contemporary Living Network

All of this is being edited in Adobe Premiere Pro CC 2014 8.1 on a combination of Mac Pros, PCs and even my MacBook Air.   Sync’ing is going brilliantly.  At the moment we’re editing with AJA Kona cards and IoXTs but Blackmagic is sending down some 4k Decklinks and thunderbolt devices for us to test out using the actual 4k output.  Playback has been good so far and the imagery is simply gorgeous.  Some areas where there might some noise issues, but that will be for another post after we have a chance to actually edit and complete an episode.

As I mentioned early in the article, the only way to know how 4k UHD works is to get your hands on some gear and test it yourself.  Take advantage of services like Lens Rentals, go out and play for a weekend.   Special thanks to Keith Schroeder, April Simpson, Terry Simpson, Cheryl Collins and Simon Majumdar for all their help this past week in production.  The results so far are simply delicious!

Incredible steak prepared by Simon Majumdar and the GH4 on the “Fork U” set

The post First 4k UHD Field Production: I LIKE IT! appeared first on WalterBiscardi.com.

-Contemporary Living Network to Reflect Audience’s Mobile and Engaged Lifestyle-

June 16, 2014; Atlanta, GA; – Award-winning MTWD Entertainment (sister company to Biscardi Creative) production team (Good Eats, This American Land, Network Earth, Foul Water Fiery Serpent) sets to launch a new multi-platform project Contemporary Living Network (CLN) in the Fall of 2014, in response to the rapidly growing demand for digital, mobile-friendly programming. CLN will focus on positive lifestyle edutainment, with audience engagement and real life integration at its core. A continuously expanding library of original programming will be offered, most shot with the industry-leading 4K technology.

Says Walter Biscardi, Jr., Executive Producer, “Contemporary Living Network is designed for today’s digital lifestyle – the viewer decides how, where and when to watch our programming. We offer the inspiration for Food, Travel, Entertainment, Home, Fitness and more, along with the resources to do what we show on screen, so the viewer can easily re-create what we’re doing or be inspired to indulge in their own, unique variations.”

A multi-platform video network, CLN will be distributed through traditional and digital channels, including select US TV markets, streaming video players (Roku, AppleTV, Amazon Fire TV), online video distributors (YouTube, Vimeo, Hulu, Netflix), video on demand (Comcast Xfinity VOD), mobile applications (Android, iOS, Windows) and various websites.

On the production end, CLN will be managed and supported through Ooyala video technology services, currently used by such channels as ESPN, Universal, and Comedy Central. Utilization of Ooyala will allow CLN’s partners to share targeted messaging across specific programs or channels, while providing them with real-time granular analytics across all platforms and devices for maximum audience reach.

About MTWD Entertainment:

MTWD Entertainment is an original content development company for all media. With a focus on lifestyle genre, MTWD creates memorable and impactful programming showcasing travel, food, music, home, garden and family. MTWD offers a wide range of creative development services, including Original Concept Development, Pitch and Production Planning, Series/Episode Development, as well as full production services in-house to support projects from conception to execution.

For more information on sponsorship opportunities please contact:

Walter Biscardi / walter@mtwdentertainment.com / o: 770.271.3551

For press and media inquiries please contact:

Victoria Basova / victoria@hcconsultingonline.com / o: 323.283.4595

The post MTWD Entertainment Announces Contemporary Living Network appeared first on WalterBiscardi.com.

Walter Prepping to serve the seafood sauce

It’s that time of year again and BCM Founder Walter Biscardi, Jr. is gearing up for his traditional “Italian Feast of the Seven Fishes.”   The meal was brought over from Italy by Walter’s grandfather Lou and growing up it was the only way he know to celebrate Christmas Eve.   Walter has modified it from his grandfather’s original meal and actually tweaks the menu every couple of years as he loves to try new things.  Honestly if he wasn’t running a production company he’d surely have a restaurant by now.

So as we all gather together for this 2013 Holiday Season, here’s his menu for the Christmas Eve celebration along with all the recipes so you and yours can enjoy.   Many of these are quite simple.  If you’ve never tried the Randall’s Ordinary Scallops, you owe it to yourself to try this incredibly simple and delicious dish.  The Salmon baked in foil is incredibly simple and tasty.  Even the Tortonis make an amazing dessert and are simple to prepare.

Seafood Purchasing tip:  I purchase all of my seafood from my local Costco on Dec. 22nd each year except the Calamari because they don’t carry it.  But all other seafood you see in these recipes comes from their store.  It’s amazing and it’s quite the savings vs. a fish or super market pricing.   In fact we probably purchase close to 70% of the ingredients for this meal at Costco, including their insanely awesome first press extra virgin olive oil.

Prepare, Eat, Enjoy!

Walter’s grandfather holding court with great stories on Christmas Eve.

The Biscardi Feast of the Seven Fishes: 2013

Cocktails & Antipasta

House Cocktail: Poinsettia featuring Cointreau, Prosecco and Cranberry Juice

Fried Calamari & Catfish

Fried Cauliflower

Italian Cheese & Meats

Homemade Mozzarella Cheese with fresh basil.

Roasted Red Peppers with fresh basil __________________________

First Course – Pasta Two Ways

Pasta with the Biscardi Family Fish Sauce including: Clams, Mussels, Catfish, Shrimp, Calamari, Lobster Tail

Pasta with Marinara Sauce including Sun Dried Tomatoes. ________________________

Second Course – Seafood Two Ways & Meat 

Crab and Ricotta Cannelloni

Randall’s Ordinary Scallops

Italian Sausage and Peppers

Ricotta & Spinach Stuffed Shells  ____________________________

Third Course – Seafood Two Other Ways & Vegetables 

Shrimp Cocktail

Salmon Baked in Foil

Cauliflower Sformato

Broccoli Rabe with Garlic and chili pepper

Cioppiolini’s and Potatoes    _______________________________

Dessert 

Tortoni

Cookies provided by guests

Coffee / Espresso / Hot Chocolate / Tea ________________________

THE RECIPES:

Lori, Walter and Kim on Christmas Eve a long time ago…..

Breaded Cauliflower, Fried Fish and Fried Calamari  (use the same eggs, breadcrumb combination for all.  Works best in a deep fryer, but can also be fried in a heavy pan like a cast iron pan.)

• 2 heads of Cauliflower, chopped.
• 1-2 lbs Catfish, cut into chunks or strips.
• 1-2lbs Calamari cut into 1/2″ strips.
• 4 – 6 eggs for dipping for each of the items
• 1/4 cup of milk
• Seasoned Breadcrumbs for dipping
• Peanut Oil for frying.  Generally 1 gallon for a deep fryer.  Want to submerge the food in oil.

1. Pre-heat the Deep Fryer to 375 degrees.
2. Mix the eggs and milk together.
3. Dip into egg, and then into breadcrumbs.  Be sure to coat fully.
4. Fry in batches for 2 minutes each.

Note: if you have Vegetarians attending the meal, cook the Cauliflower in the oil first, then cook the seafood.

———–

Homemade Mozzarella with Fresh Basil

We use this Williams-Sonoma DIY Mozzarella kit for the cheese.

First Press Extra Virgin Olive Oil (we use the Costco brand sold once a year in the glass bottles)

Slice the cheese approx. 1/4″ thick, top each slice with a basil leaf, repeat around a platter and drizzle with the oil.

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This is how Walter makes it through the preparation schedule for the Feast…

Roasted Red Pepper Salad with Fresh Basil

Make at least one day in advance to allow the flavors to blend.  

• 6 Red Peppers
• Paper Bag big enough to hold the 6 peppers or a pot with a lid. (for steaming the peppers after they cook)
• 1 head of garlic, minced
• Fresh Basil, chopped
• Pepper to taste
• Airtight container approx 8” x 3” and 3” deep (like Tupperware)

1. Place a rack approx. 6 inches from the top of the oven, set oven to Broil OR heat your grill to medium heat.
2. Wash and place the whole peppers on a baking sheet and place under the broiler, (or on the grill) be sure to leave the oven door open a crack.
3. Turn the peppers as needed until they are just about completely blacked on all sides.  Should take from 10 – 20 minutes in the oven, 8-10 minutes on the Grill.
4. Put the peppers into a paper bag and seal the bag, let rest at least 10 minutes. (or in a pot with a lid)
5. Peel the skin off the peppers and discard.
6. Slice the peppers open and discard the seeds and the stem.
7. Slice the peppers vertically in 1/4 – 1/2” strips.
8. Place a layer of pepper strips in the bottom of the container
9. Sprinkle basil, garlic, oregano and pepper on the peppers  (can omit any of these to taste)
10. Repeat this process until all of the peppers and mozzarella are used, should be 3 – 4 layers depending on the size of the container.
11. Place the container in the refrigerator overnight.
12. Remove from the refrigerator and place onto a serving plate approx. 30 minutes before serving.

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Mama Biscardi’s Feast of the Seven Fishes Fish Sauce.

• 1/2 bushel Littleneck Clams
• 3 lbs Mussels
• 2 Lobster Tails
• 2 lbs Shrimp
• 2 lbs Fresh Fish (Talapia, Sole, Catfish, etc….)
• 1 lb Calamari sliced
• Garlic in Oil
• 2 full cans of white clam sauce (Progresso’s)
• 1 – 106 oz Can of Whole Tomatoes
• 2 – 14.5 oz Can of Diced Tomatoes
• 1-2 tablespoons of sugar
• Fresh Basil
• Crushed Hot Pepper

1. Clean all of the seafood, including scrubbing the shells of the clams and mussels.
2. De-vein the shrimp.
3. Set all of the seafood aside in the refrigerator.
4. Steam the clams and mussels in garlic, wine, butter.
5. Strain the juices from the clams and mussels and add to the sauce.
6. Fry the calamari just before adding and pour in with the oil.
7. Put the clams and mussels aside.
8. Lightly brown the garlic in oil.
9. Add the full can of white clam sauce.
10. Add the strained clams.
11. Bring to a light boil.
12. Add all of the Tomatoes and the Sugar, turn the heat down to medium low.
13. Add fresh basil to taste
14. Add Crushed Hot Pepper to taste.
15. Let simmer at least 2 hours over low to medium heat.
16.  Relax, have a glass of wine, smile, say hello to your friends…..
17. One hour before serving – Lobster Tails
18. 30 minutes before serving – add the Calamari
19. 15 minutes before serving – add the steamed clams and mussels
20. 10 minutes before serving – add the Shrimp and Fresh Fish.
21. Serve over 2 – 3 pounds of fresh linguine.

A look at the sauce simmering on the stove.

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Dom DeLuise’s Marinara Sauce

• Makes 2 quarts
• 4 tbsp Olive Oil
• 5 Cloves Garlic Minced
• 1 medium onion minced.
• 2 28oz cans peeled tomatoes, cut
• 1 6oz can tomato paste
• 4 tbsp sun dried tomatoes
• 10 fresh basil leaves

1. In a deep 10” fry pan, heat oil and saute the garlic and onion.
2. Add tomatoes, tomato paste and sundried tomatoes.
3. Put on medium heat for 20-30 minutes, stir occassionally.
4. Tear basil leaves into small pieces and sprinkle on top after adding to pasta.

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Crab & Ricotta Canneloni (Note: the Spinach & Ricotta Stuffed shells are the exact same recipe, just switching out the Crab for Spinach to make it a vegetarian friendly dish.)

• 1 box (8 ounces) cannelloni or manicotti pasta (about 12 shells)
• 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus 1/4 cup for sprinkling
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
• 2tbs Butter
• 4 cloves garlic chopped
• 1 pound Snow or King Crab meat (Lump Crab from Costco is awesome for this)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

Bechamel Sauce, recipe follows

NOTE: We cook and stuff the pasta a day in advance, bake on Xmas Eve.

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.  Add the pasta and cook according to directions on the box.  NOTE: Carefully remove the pasta from the water, they split easily when cooked.
2. Shred the Crab Meat.
3. In a saucepan, melt the butter and saute the garlic.   Add the crab meat and toss for approx. 1 minute  or so to heat up and absorb the butter / garlic.
4. In a large bowl, mix together ricotta, 3/4 cup Parmesan, egg yolk, basil, crab, salt, and pepper.  Using an espresso spoon, fill the cannelloni with the crab mixture and place in a buttered baking dish.  If preparing in advance, cover and place in the refrigerator.

Bechamel Sauce (note: Sauce can be made up to 3 days in advance)

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 to 5 cloves garlic, chopped.
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups whole milk, warmed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

1. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat, toss in the garlic and cook for approx. 1 minute.
2. Add the flour and whisk until smooth, about 2 minutes.
3. Gradually add the warm milk, whisking constantly, until the sauce is thick, smooth, and creamy, about 10 minutes (do not allow the sauce to boil). Remove from the heat and stir in the salt and pepper.
4. If necessary, saute a little more garlic in butter and add to the sauce. (The sauce can be made up to 3 days ahead. Cool and then cover and refrigerate.)

To Serve: PreHeat Oven to 350 Degrees.

Top the filled cannelloni with the Bechamel Sauce and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese. Bake until bubbly and the top is golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes. Serve immediately.

This is what Christmas Eve looked like at my house growing up. This is the early 60’s

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• 2 bunches scallions, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Paprika
• Pinch Salt
• Pinch pepper
• 4 ounces (1 stick) butter
• 2 pounds scallops
• Seasoned breadcrumbs to coat

1. Mix scallions, garlic, paprika, salt and pepper together.
2. In a sauté pan, melt butter.  When butter is melted, add sauté scallion mixture.
3. In a separate bowl, coat the scallops with bread crumbs.  Add the coated scallops to the sauté mixture.  Stir and cook about 2 – 4 minutes.

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Crock Pot Italian Sausage

• 5 lbs Italian sausage, in casings
• 4 large green peppers, sliced
• 3 large onions, sliced
• 1 -2 garlic cloves, minced
• 28 ounces tomato puree
• 14 ounces tomato sauce
• 12 ounces tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons sugar

1. Cut sausage into 4 or 5″ pieces and brown on all sides in batches in skillet.
2. Saute peppers, onions, and garlic in drippings.
3. Combine tomato puree, sauce, and paste in bowl.
4. Add seasonings and sugar.
5. Layer half of sausage, onions, and peppers in 6qt cooker.
6. Cover with half the tomato mixture. Repeat layers. Cover.
7. Cook on high 1 hour and low 5-6 hours.
8. Serve as a side item, on rolls or tossed with the pasta of your choice.

SUPER easy to make Sausage and Peppers and this is a hit on Super Bowl Sunday too!

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Spinach and Ricotta Shells with Bechamel Sauce (I serve this in the shells to easily differentiate the crab and vegetarian versions of this dish, though you could use the same Cannelonni shells as the Crab)

24 shells 

• 1 box (12 ounces) of Jumbo Shells
• 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus 1/4 cup for sprinkling
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
• 4 tbs Butter
• 6 cloves garlic chopped
• 2 bags of Spinach (6 or 8oz bags)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

Bechamel Sauce, recipe follows

NOTE: We cook and stuff the pasta a day in advance, bake on Xmas Eve.

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.  Add the pasta and cook according to directions on the box.  NOTE: Carefully remove the pasta from the water, they split easily when cooked.
2. In a saucepan, melt the butter and saute the garlic.   Add the spinach approx. 1/2 bag at a time and cook down.  Approx. 4 minutes for all.
3. In a large bowl, mix together ricotta, 3/4 cup Parmesan, egg yolk, basil, spinach, salt, and pepper.  Using an espresso spoon, fill the cannelloni with the crab mixture and place in a buttered baking dish.  If preparing in advance, cover and place in the refrigerator.

Bechamel Sauce (note: Sauce can be made up to 3 days in advance)

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 to 5 cloves garlic, chopped.
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups whole milk, warmed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

1. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat, toss in the garlic and cook for approx. 1 minute.
2. Add the flour and whisk until smooth, about 2 minutes.
3. Gradually add the warm milk, whisking constantly, until the sauce is thick, smooth, and creamy, about 10 minutes (do not allow the sauce to boil).
4. Remove from the heat and stir in the salt and pepper.
5. If necessary, saute a little more garlic in butter and add to the sauce. (The sauce can be made up to 3 days ahead. Cool and then cover and refrigerate.)

To Serve: PreHeat Oven to 350 Degrees.

Top the filled shells with the Bechamel Sauce and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese. Bake until bubbly and the top is golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes. Serve immediately.

Very pretty dish and the non-vegetarians love this too!

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Alton Brown’s Shrimp Cocktail (I worked on the series for 5 years so of course I have to have an AB recipe in here!)

His full recipe is here on the Food Network website and it’s the brine that seems to really make the difference.  However I actually cook my shrimp on the grill instead.  Medium heat on the grill, 2 minutes first side, 1 minute second side.  This also makes an insane grilled shrimp if you eat them right off the grill.

Cooking tip: I cook these a day in advance, but leave the shells on the shrimp and put them in the fridge.  Then clean them the morning of Christmas Eve before prepping them to serve.  Keeping them in the shells overnight seems to help keep the shrimp moist and retains more of the olive oil flavor.

Easily the best, most flavorful Shrimp Cocktail I’ve ever had.

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Salmon Baked in Foil

This is a Giada recipe from the Food Network as well.  SUPER simple to make.  Be sure to cook this just prior to serving.  Serve each person their own foil pouch.

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Cauliflower Sformato

This is a brand new recipe for me in 2013 and it comes from La Cucina Italiana Magazine.  This makes an incredible presentation at the table and if you have trouble getting your kids to eat vegetables, try this on them. Don’t tell them it’s cauliflower!

Serving Tip: Make these either in the morning or the day before.  You MUST let these cool completely before you try to flip it out of the pan.   Reheat and just before serving, top with more breadcrumb and broil to brown it up.

I used an angel food cake pan for the Sformato and it worked well.

I added more breadcrumb to the top and broiled before serving.

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Broccoli Rabe with Chili and Garlic.

I got this one from the same La Cucina Italiana article.  If you can, definitely make this a day in advance of your meal or at least a few hours in advance.  The garlic really blends in the more the dish has a chance to sit.

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Cioppolini’s and Potatoes (Cioppolini’s are small Italian onions)

• 2 lbs of Cippiolinis, cleaned and halved  (Can substitute Pearl Onions)
• 6 med-large Red Potatoes, cleaned and sliced
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup Olive Oil
• 3 Garlic Cloves, sliced
• Salt to taste
• Crushed Red Pepper to taste
• Paprika to taste

1. Fry the onions in the oil over medium heat
2. Add the sliced Potatoes and cook for a few minutes covered.
3. Add the Garlic and Salt.
4. Add the Red Pepper and Paprika.
5. Stir often Cook approx. 10 minutes depending on the depth of the pan and how many potatoes you have in there, could take a bit longer.  Keep the cover on during the entire cooking process.

We make these a day in advance and reheat, covered, in the oven.

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Tortoni (basically an Italian light ice cream)

• 1/4 cup almonds, sliced
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 1/4 cups macaroon crumbs  (an 8oz container of macaroons makes approx. 2 cups of crumbs)
• 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 2 tablespoons dark rum
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 8 candied cherries (optional)

1. Spread out almonds on a cookie sheet and place in a preheated 325 degree oven for 3 minutes.  Turn tray around, toss nuts with a metal spatula and toast for another 3 minutes.
2. Cut the macaroons in quarters, then toss into a food processor or chopper and process into crumbs.
3. In a large bowl, mix together 1 cup of cream, the macaroon crumbs and confectioners’ sugar.
4. Chill for 30 minutes.
5. Mix in the rum and vanilla and chill for another 30 minutes.
6. Whip the remaining 1 cup of cream to soft peaks and fold into the macaroon mixture.
7. Divide the mixture among eight 4-ounce paper cups.
8. Top with the almonds and cherries, if desired.
9. Cover with foil and freeze for 4 hours or until firm.

(Can be made up to 3 days in advance.  Be sure to tightly cover with foil)

This is how we relax on Christmas Morning….

The post Holiday Recipes: 2013 Edition! appeared first on WalterBiscardi.com.

We all get one shot at this thing called life and while it’s important to stay on top of what makes us all successful in the industry, you also have take time to step back, unplug and enjoy “other things.”  I’ve found that my love of “other things” has helped me be more successful in my “day job.”  For instance, my love of cooking gave me an immediate connection with Alton Brown when I met him the first time on the set of “Good Eats.”  I was blown away by all the “toys” in his kitchen and we spent as much time talking about cooking and the toys as we did the animations I was originally asked to come in to discuss.  When you enjoy life and have other pursuits, you can have some common interests beyond technology to chat about with both colleagues and clients.   So I’m starting a new series on this blog, “Get A Life!” where I’m just going to share some of the things I love to do outside work and I’ll get some of my friends to join in as well.

I’ve found a love of cooking to be common among many of my colleagues and in the past I’ve blogged extensively about my family’s “Christmas Eve Feast of the Seven Fishes” which I’ll repeat here on this very blog soon.  But today, I’m here to share with you an incredible “Italian” Thanksgiving meal that I prepared along with my colleague, Kylee Wall (@kyl33t) who also loves to cook and bake.  The menu and recipes were all prepared by Chef Marco Canora and featured in La Cucina Italiana Magazine.  This is one of my favorite cooking magazines and Marco brought an Italian accent to the traditional American Thanksgiving meal.   The meal is quite simple to make with little stress and these recipes would make a welcome addition to any holiday meal or gathering in your home.

The Menu

Roasted fennel soup with cranberries and hazelnuts

Butternut squash risotto with mostarda di cremona, amaretti cookies and fried sage leaves

Roast turkey with garlic, sage and orange

Caramelized leek and sage stuffing

Cauliflower sformato

Mushrooms in parchment paper

Broccoli rabe with chili and garlic

Homemade meat broth

Pine nut pie

The recipes and a cooking schedule can be found here in the article “Thanksgiving With An Italian Accent.”

Some Notes on the Menu.

My wife is a vegetarian so we substituted vegetable broth for all the recipes except the Gravy so I did not bother to make the meat broth.  This is an entirely vegetarian meal if you go that route with the exception of the turkey and gravy.   If you believe you are not a fan of Fennel, and I count myself among you because I hate black licorice, do not let that sway you from making the Fennel soup.  It is simply amazing and I believe the roasting removes all that licorice type flavor.  For the Risotto we omitted the Mostarda di Cremona because it did not sound very appetizing and in lieu of ameretti cookies, we used roasted walnuts.  And definitely do the fried Sage leaves, we’ve never done that before and they were awesome.  For the Sformato, we could not find a ring pan so we used an angel food non-stick pan and it worked out extremely well.  Did not brown up exactly like the photos in the recipe but I came up with a solution to get it close.   Be sure to check out his cooking schedule that is provided with the recipe, we followed it and that made the entire meal simple and easy to prepare.  Serve the meal in courses like he describes with Soup first, then the Risotto, then the main meal.  It’s a nice pace this way and you just give small portions of the first two courses to get the meal started.

So here’s a look at how our versions of the menu turned out.

Roasted fennel soup with cranberries and hazelnuts

Roasting Fennel and Onions

Transfer the vegetables to veggie broth to continue cooking.

Puree the soup.

Finished soup with fresh drizzle of olive oil, roasted hazelnuts and chopped craisin garnish.

Butternut squash risotto with toasted walnuts and fried sage leaves

Roasted and pureed butternut squash

Final stages of the Risotto after the diced squash has been added.

Frying the Sage leaves, takes only seconds, incredible addition.

Butternut Squash Risotto topped with roasted walnuts, fresh parmesan and fried sage leaf.

Roast turkey with garlic, sage and orange

Heads chopped off garlic, making oil / sage / orange rub for turkey

Massaging the oil all around the turkey.

Bagging up the bird, I use oven bags for my birds to keep them very moist. They also cut about 1 hour off cooking time.

The roasted bird.

Sliced and ready for serving.

Carmelized Leek and Sage Stuffing.

Slice leeks lengthwise, then into small slices.

After chopping the leeks, clean thoroughly in a bowl.

Fresh Artisan bread from Costco, yep, Costco.

Cubed bread toasted in the oven.

Stuffing prepped and ready for the oven.  Two pans worked out nice so we could serve one and leave the other for later.

The finished stuffing, incredible.

Cauliflower sformato

Finely chop the cauliflower.

Mixing all the ingredients together.

Very well buttered and breadcrumbed angel food pan

Lightly browned from the oven.

After allowing to fully cool, we flipped it out, not as browned as the picture.

I dusted the top of the Sformato with more breadcrumb and broiled it for a few minutes to get the crust.

Mushrooms in parchment paper

Mix of mushrooms from Costco

Kylee sauteeing the shrooms.

Beautifully sauteed mushrooms.

Parchment in a “clamshell”

Folded and sealed parchment.

The finished product.

Broccoli rabe with chili and garlic

Finished product, super easy to make.

Pine nut pie

Finished Pine Nut Pie.

It’s like a pecan pie, but with pine nuts instead.

Fresh hot chocolate. 4oz 60% or darker chocolate melted in a double boiler in 2 tsp of water, add one cup of warmed milk, stir until warmed through, add sugar to taste. Makes two servings.

Happy Eats from Walter, Nathan and Kylee!

The post Get a Life! Part 1 of a continuing series – Recipes from the Kitchen appeared first on WalterBiscardi.com.

Here’s a look at the Bow Knots, or what I call “Nonni’s Bow Knots” in the recipes.  Nonni is an Italian nickname for grandmother, Poppi is the nickname for grandfather.  This recipe was from my Dad’s mom.

So here’s the setup, you can see I have a hand crank pasta machine partially out of frame on the left, my Waring Pro deep fryer in the middle, cutting board with pizza wheel upper left and the drying rack on the right.  You have to roll the dough out pretty much paper thin and the pasta machine is the only way I’ve found to roll it that thin.   And all of this is set up outside on our deck to keep the fry smell out of the house.  It’s 45 degrees out there, but it’s no problem to with some hot coffee.

I cut out strips of the dough as you can see on the left.  I guess around 5 inches by 2 or 3 inches.  Doesn’t matter, just whatever size you want them to be.  Nonni was able to actually create bows out of these things but I have no mastered that yet so I just do the flat strips and they are equally good.  I just move the dough into the fryer, usually 3 to 5 pieces at a time.  Fry for not even 30 seconds and remove to a drying rack.   Once they’re dried and a little cool, just dust with confectioners sugar as you can see below.  Very simple and VERY good.

Ok, now while I have everything set up and the oil is hot, I go ahead and prepare the Struffoli too.  If you walk by an Italian bakery during the holidays you’ve probably seen the tower of dough balls with sprinkles on them on the window.  Those are Struffoli.

You start out by rolling down out into thin ropes as shown below.  Kind of like making cavatelli.

Cut the dough into small pieces.  1 inch or smaller.

Drop them by batches into the fryer….

1 minute later, turn onto the drying rack, Stuffoli!   Well almost, the last step is to dunk all of these into warm honey per the instructions, but I do that the day before we serve.

So there you go, that’s a brief look at what Struffoli and the Bow Knots look like.   Yes, Alton Brown would be disappointed because I’m using a “uni-tasker” with the deep fryer but honestly, it’s easier and cleaner than using a dutch oven on the stove.   AND I can use it outside to keep the fry smell out of the house.  So even though it’s a uni-tasker and we only use it once or twice per year, for me, it’s worth it!

Merry Christmas!!!!

The post Holiday Recipes – Struffoli and Bow Knots revealed appeared first on WalterBiscardi.com.

Those who know me know that I love to cook.  Check that.  I LOVE to cook.  All cuisines, all styles, you name it I love to prepare food.  Even more than that, I LOVE to cook for friends and family.  As often as we can we have folks over for home made pizza on the grill, seafood, steaks, pasta, you name it, we make it.   I’ve always said that if I was not in television I would own a restaurant.  Working on “Good Eats” with Alton Brown for 5 seasons allowed me to marry both of my loves together.

My family has a strong southern Italian heritage and my grandfather brought over the tradition of the Feast of the Seven Fishes.  This is a Christmas Eve feast celebrated with close family and friend.  I honestly had no idea there was any other way to celebrate Christmas until I went off to college!   After I moved south to Atlanta this is the one thing I really missed every year when Christmas rolled around.

In 1998 my incredible wife let me pick up the tradition down here and it’s only grown every year since!  Now she is a vegetarian so I’ve modified our original family menu to include more veggy items.  And I do break with tradition from our family and mix up some of the menu items from year to year.   We prepare everything on this list pretty much during the 6 days leading up to and on Christmas Eve and it becomes a real fun time for everyone.  Folks usually come to our house on the 22nd and 23rd to help with preparations and those are always great times as well.

I hope some of these recipes find a place in your home and where ever you are, whatever you celebrate, may you have a very blessed and safe 2011.

Biscardi Feast of the Seven Fishes – Christmas Eve, 2010

This is a traditional Italian seafood celebration.  Each person must sample at least 13 items…. One for each of the Apostles and one for Jesus.

Antipasta

1    Italian Meat and Cheese platters.  Mix of Italian meats, hard Italian cheese.

2    Roasted Red Peppers with Fresh Mozzarella & Basil

3    Stuffed Hot Cherry Peppers

Appetizer

4    Shrimp Cocktail.    Served at the table

5    Baked Clams on the Half Shell.   Served at the table

6    Ravioli with marinara

Main Course

7    Pasta with Fish Sauce

8        Clams

9        Mussels

10        Catfish

11        Shrimp

12        Calamari tentacles

13    Pasta with Marinara Sauce

14    Randall’s Ordinary Scallops

15    Fried Calamari

16    Baked Tilapia with Lime Zest

17    Grilled Tuna with Pesto Sauce

18    Pasta with Marinara Sauce

19    Green Beans and Kale with Parmesan

20    Breaded Cauliflower

21    Tuscan Mushrooms (stuffed mushrooms)

22    Piselli Con Panna e Pancetta  (peas with pancetta and cream)

23    Wally’s Steamed Lobster Tails

Dessert

24    Coffee

25    Tiramisu Layer Cake

26    Struffoli

27    Chestnut Chocolate Pots

28    Nonni’s Bow Knots

29    Assorted traditional Biscardi family cookies.

Mama Biscardi’s Christmas Eve Fish Sauce

1/2 bushel Littleneck Clams

3 lbs Mussels

2 Lobster Tails

2 lbs Shrimp

2 lbs Fresh Fish (Talapia, Sole, Catfish, etc….)

1 lb Calamari sliced

Garlic in Oil

2 full cans of white clam sauce (Progresso’s)

1 – 106 oz Can of Whole Tomatoes

2 – 14.5 oz Can of Diced Tomatoes

1-2 tablespoons of sugar

Fresh Basil

Crushed Hot Pepper

Clean all of the seafood, including scrubbing the shells of the clams and mussels.

De-vein the shrimp.

Set all of the seafood aside in the refrigerator.

Steam the clams and mussels in garlic, wine, butter.

Strain the juices from the clams and mussels and add to the sauce.

Fry the calamari just before adding and pour in with the oil.

Put the clams and mussels aside.

Lightly brown the garlic in oil.

Add the full can of white clam sauce.

Add the strained clams.

Bring to a light boil.

Add all of the Tomatoes and the Sugar, turn the heat down to medium low.

Add fresh basil to taste

Add Crushed Hot Pepper to taste.

Let simmer at least 2 hours over low to medium heat.

One hour before serving – Lobster Tails

30 minutes before serving – add the Calamari

15 minutes before serving – add the steamed clams and mussels

10 minutes before serving – add the Shrimp and Fresh Fish.

Serve over 2 – 3 pounds of fresh linguine.

Randall’s Ordinary Scallops

2 bunches scallions, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

Paprika

Pinch Salt

Pinch pepper

4 ounces (1 stick) butter

2 pounds scallops

Seasoned breadcrumbs to coat

Mix scallions, garlic, paprika, salt and pepper together.

In a sauté pan, melt butter.  When butter is melted, add sauté scallion mixture.

In a separate bowl, coat the scallops with bread crumbs.  Add the coated scallops to the sauté mixture.  Stir and cook about 2 – 4 minutes.

Alton Brown Shrimp Cocktail

32 shell-on (21 to 25 count) tiger shrimp

For the brine:

1/4 cup kosher salt

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup water

2 cups ice

For the cocktail sauce:

1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained

1/2 cup prepared chili sauce

4 tablespoons prepared horseradish

1 teaspoon sugar

Few grinds fresh black pepper

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

Sprinkle Old Bay seasoning

Using a pair of scissors or a serrated knife, make an incision down the backside of the shrimp, following the intestinal track. Eviscerate shrimp and rinse under cool water leaving shells intact.

Place cleaned shrimp into a bowl with brine and refrigerate mixture for 20 to 25 minutes. While shrimp are brining, place tomatoes, chili sauce, horseradish, sugar, pepper, and salt in food processor and blend until smooth. Refrigerate cocktail sauce until ready to serve.

Place a baking sheet or broiler pan under oven broiler and preheat for 5 minutes. Remove shrimp from brine and drain thoroughly. Rinse the shrimp under cold water and dry on paper towels. In a large bowl, toss shrimp with olive oil and sprinkle with Old Bay seasoning, if desired.

Place shrimp onto a sizzling sheet pan and return to broiler immediately. After 2 minutes, turn the shrimp with a pair of tongs. Return the shrimp to broiler for 1 minute. Transfer to a cold cookie sheet. Refrigerate immediately.

Once shrimp have chilled, arrange with cocktail sauce in a martini glass or as desired.

Baked Clams on the Half Shell ala Wally  (my own variation on a classic)

Prep Time: 20 minutes + 20 minute rest

Cook Time: 2-4 minutes

Yield: 20 – 30 baked clams

16 Large Clams like Qhahog or Top Neck

White Wine for steaming

1 Stick of butter

3 Cloves garlic sliced

1.5 cups seasoned breadcrumbs

1/4 cup fresh basil chopped

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves

4 cloves finely chopped garlic

Pinch of grated cheese

1/2 cup olive oil

3 Lemons cut into wedges

Scrub the clams under cold running water.

In a large pot, place enough white wine to cover the bottom and up to 1/2” up along with the stick of butter and the 3 cloves of sliced garlic.  Bring to a boil

When boiling, add all the clams, cover and cook until all the clams open, about 5 minutes or less.

Remove the clams and let cool.  You can either save the clam juice for a seafood sauce or dump.

Remove the steamed clams, but save the shells.  Chopped the steamed clams.

In a small bowl, toss together the chopped clams, bread crumbs, fresh basil, parsley, garlic and grated cheese.

Use a fork to stir the olive oil into this mixture. It should be moist but not oily. Set aside to chill for at least 20 minutes.

While the mixture chills, break open the shells completely and clean thoroughly.

Brush each shell with vegetable or olive oil.

Fill each clam with a portion of the topping mixture, spreading it evenly over the clam to the edge of the shell. Pat down gently, but do not press it tight.

Turn on the broiler in your oven.

Spritz or brush olive oil lightly onto the top of each clam.

Place the clams under the broiler and cook until golden brown, about 2 – 4 minutes.

Serve immediately with lemon wedges.

Wally’s Steamed & Broiled Lobster Tails

Up to 12 Lobster Tails

White wine, enough for bottom of pot

1/2 – 1 stick of butter depending on how many tails

1/4 – 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

2 – 6 cloves of garlic sliced.

1/4 cup additional chopped fresh basil

Clean the tails thoroughly.

Remove the meat from the shells, discard shells.

Bring wine, butter and garlic to a boil and add lobster tails.

Cook for 8 minutes.

Allow the tails to cool immediately in a bowl sitting on ice.

When ready to serve with the meal…

Set the Oven to Broil.

Place the tails in a shallow oven pan.

Place a pat of butter and two slices of garlic on each tail.

Broil for 3 minutes or until done.

Transfer to a chafing pan for serving and sprinkle fresh basil across the tails.

Grilled Tuna with Basil Pesto

2 (2-inch thick) tuna steaks (about 1 pound each)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

PESTO SAUCE

1 garlic clove, peeled

2 cups fresh basil leaves

1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup – 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Preheat grill to 400 degrees F.

Wash and pat dry the tuna steaks. Season with salt and pepper and brush both sides with olive oil. Place tuna on hot grill and sear each side for 2 minutes for rare. If you prefer well done, cook the tuna an additional 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove from skillet and let it rest.

Into the bowl of a food processor, add the garlic, basil leaves, pine nuts, salt, and pepper. Pulse until finely chopped. With the blender still running, slowly pour 1/2 cup of olive oil. Check for a thick, yet smooth consistency, adding more oil if necessary. Transfer to a bowl and stir in 1/2 cup Parmesan.

Slice the tuna across the grain and on a bias into 1/2-inch thick slices. Place the slices on a serving plate and drizzle with lemon juice. Sauce tuna with pesto.

Baked Tilapia with Lime Zest

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

Butter

cooking spray

4 (6 to 8-ounce) tilapia fillets

Salt and freshly cracked black pepper

1 lime, finely grated zest and juice

2 tablespoons butter

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Coat a large cast iron pan with a nonstick butter spray.

Rinse fish and pat dry; place on the prepared baking sheet.

Season each fillet with salt, cracked pepper, lime zest and lime juice.

Add fish to the pan.

Place a pat of butter on each fillet and cook in the oven for 8 to 12 minutes

Roasted Red Pepper Salad with Fresh Mozzarella

Make at least one day in advance to allow the flavors to blend.

6 Red Peppers

Paper Bag big enough to hold the 6 peppers

1 head of garlic, minced

Fresh Basil, chopped

Pepper to taste

1lbs of Fresh Mozzarella, cubed approx. 1/2 – 3/4”

Airtight container approx 8” x 3” and 3” deep (like Tupperware)

Place a rack approx. 6 inches from the top of the oven, set oven to Broil.

Wash and place the whole peppers on a baking sheet and place under the broiler, be sure to leave the oven door open a crack.

Turn the peppers as needed until they are just about completely blacked on all sides.  Should take from 10 – 20 minutes.

Put the peppers into a paper bag and seal the bag, let rest at least 10 minutes.

peel the skin off the peppers and discard.

Slice the peppers open and discard the seeds and the stem.

Slice the peppers vertically in 1/4 – 1/2” strips.

Place a layer of pepper strips in the bottom of the container

Sprinkle basil, garlic, oregano and pepper on the peppers

Spread some cubes of Mozzarella over the layer.

Repeat this process until all of the peppers and mozzarella are used, should be 3 – 4 layers depending on the size of the container.

Place the container in the refrigerator overnight.

Remove from the refrigerator and place onto a serving plate to serve.

Alternative: Leave out the Mozzarella.

Hot Stuffed Cherry Peppers

Cherry Peppers  (no more than 1/2 gallon jar)

Bread Crumbs

Parsley (fresh or dried)

Basil (fresh or dried)

Garlic Powder

Eggs  (use egg starters / egg beaters as they are pasteurized)

Fresh Mozzarella cheese

Large pinch Grated Cheese

Cut top of pepper off and clean out seeds.

Mix bread crumbs, cheese, parsley, basil and garlic powder together.

Beat eggs and add to bread crumb mixture to make a paste

Cut the Mozzarella Cheese into small cubes that will fit inside the bottom of the peppers.

Push a cube of Mozzarella into the bottom of the pepper.

Add stuffing until the pepper is full.

Place the peppers into a jar and cover with Olive Oil until serving time

Wally’s Marinara Sauce

3 – 6 cloves garlic, chopped

Olive oil, enough to cover bottom of pot

2 Cans of Whole Tomatoes (28 oz cans)

1 Cans of Crushed Tomatoes (28 oz)

1 can of Diced Tomatoes (14.5 oz)

1 teaspoon Sugar

Fresh Basil, chopped

Dried or fresh Oregano

Crushed Hot Pepper

Lightly brown the garlic in oil.

Add all of the tomatoes and sugar.

Add all of the spices.

Bring to a light boil, then lower the heat and let simmer for at least one hour.

Breaded Cauliflower

2 heads of Cauliflower, chopped

4 – 6 eggs for dipping

Seasoned Breadcrumbs for dipping

Pre-heat the Deep Fryer to 375 degrees.

Dip into egg, and then into breadcrumbs.  Be sure to coat fully.

Fry in batches for 2 minutes each.

Spicy Parmesan Green Beans and Kale

Serves 6 – 8

3 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 Medium Onion, sliced

1/4 lb cremini mushrooms, trimmed and quartered

1.5 lbs green beans, trimmed and cut into 1” pieces

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup Dry White Wine

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

1 bunch of Kale, approx. 1/2 lb.  Rinsed, stemmed and coarsely chopped

2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice.

3 Tbsp finely grated parmesan cheese

Warm Olive Oil in large saute pan over medium high heat.

Add Onion, cook stirring until transluscent., about 4 minutes.

Add mushrooms, green beans, salt and pepper: Cook for 2 minutes.

Add wine and continue cooking until green beans are almost tender.  About 5 min.

Add red pepper flakes and Kale.  Continue cooking until Kale has wilted.  4-5 min.

Add lemon juice and parmesan cheese.  Toss to coat and serve immediately.  Now!

Tuscan Mushrooms

Serves 4-6

1/2 cup diced, jarred roasted red bell peppers

1/2 cup diced, pitted green olives.

1/2 cup freshly grated pecorino romano cheese

2 scallions, white parts only, finely chopped.

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil.

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 lb white button mushrooms cleaned and stemmed.

1/4 cup finely chopped basil leaves.

Pre heat oven to 400 Degrees.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper

In a medium bowl mix red bell peppers, olive, cheese, scallions, olive oil, salt & pepper

On the backing sheet, arrange the mushrooms gill side up.

Spoon the filling into the mushroom cavity mounding it slightly.

Bake until the mushrooms are tender, about 20 minutes.

Transfer the mushrooms to a serving platter, sprinkle with the basil and serve.

Piselli Con Panna e Pancetta  (peas with pancetta and cream)

Serves 8

1 Tbsp garlic oil

1.5 Cups (7 oz) Pancetta or slab bacon cubed

6 Scallions, sliced

1 Tbsp butter

1 tsp dried thyme

8 Cups (2 lb) frozen baby peas

3/4 Cups boiling water from a kettle.  (nothing else will do, use anything else and you will RUIN this!)

1 Cup heavy cream

Heaping 1/2 cup shaved parmesan cheese.

Heat the Garlic Oil in a large heavy based pan with a lid over medium heat.   Or a cast iron dutch oven with lid.

Tumble in the pancetta (or bacon) cubes and let cook for about 5 minutes.

Add scallions, stir well, cook for another 3 minutes.

Add butter and thyme, stir well then tip in the frozen peas.  Don’t drop them, Don’t spill them, Don’t toss them, Don’t pour them, TIP them!

Cook for a few minutes, stirring until the frost starts to leave the peas and they turn a brighter green.

Add the water and give another stir. (you know from the kettle and you did perfect timing so it boils right NOW when the peas turn that brighter shade of green.)

Stir in the heavy cream.

Bring to a bubble.

Put the lid on and let this cook for 15 minutes.

Take the pan off the heat, remove the heat, stir in the shaved parmesan flakes.  Put the lid back on and let peas cool in their flavorsome cream.  (Nigella’s words, not mine)

The peas will dull down, losing their bright green color as they cool.

To re-heat, put the pan on a low to medium heat, keep covered, for 5-10 minutes stirring occassionally.

Make Ahead Tip! – Complete the recipe but without the parmesan cheese.   Allow to cool.  Cover and keep in the refrigerator for up to 1 day.

To re-heat, put the pan on low to medium heat and stir in the parmesan.

Cover and re-heat gently for about 5-10 minutes.

Struffoli

6 medium to large eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 pound butter

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

4 vanilla beans or 5 teaspoons of vanilla bean paste.

2 tablespoon baking powder

1 gallon vegetable oil

1 pound honey

1 small jar candy sprinkles

Break the eggs and whisk.  Put eggs through a strainer to make sure they are mixed properly.  Add sugar to eggs and mix immediately to prevent sugar from burning eggs.

In a separate bowl, mix flour and baking powder.

Bring butter to room temperature.  Flake butter into the flour.

Split vanilla beans and scrape out the seeds and add them to the sugar/egg mixture.

Put mixture into a mixer and mix (using dough hook) and slowly add the flour.  Let dough rest in a cool dry place.

Turn on your oil to 350 – 375 Degrees.

You may need to knead in up to another 1 Cup of flour to get the dough so it is not sticking to your hands.

Roll out the dough into small ropes, like cavatelli.  Cut dough into 1/2-inch pieces.  Place the pieces onto a paper plate dusted with flour.

Put vegetable oil into a large pot and bring to 350 degrees.  Fry small quantities of the dough squares in the oil and when golden brown, about 2 minutes.

Place onto a baking pan lined with paper towels to absorb excess oil.  When all dough is fried, let cool to room temperature.

In a saucepan, heat the honey (not to a boil) and add small quantities of the fried dough to the pan.  Stir lightly with a large slotted spoon.  Remove from saucepan and place onto a serving plate and sprinkle with candy sprinkles as you go.

NOTE: I use a Fry Daddy type of fryer set at 374 Degrees and I set it to 2 minutes for each batch of dough.

Nonni Biscardi Bowknots

Note: I cannot stress enough that you MUST roll the dough paper thin or they just don’t come out as you would expect.

6 Eggs  (3 whole, 3 just whites)

3 tbs. sugar

3 cups flour

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp Kirsch or other liquor such as Cognac

1 tsp rum flavoring or almond extract

1/4 tsp. salt

2 Tbs melted butter

Vegetable / Canola oil for frying

Put flower in bowl and make a well in the flour.

Add eggs, flavoring, salt and melted butter.

Mix well until dough is smoother.  Refrigerate for about 1/2 hour.

Heat canola / vegetable oil in a pot or Deep Fryer to 350 degrees

Roll paper thin. (using the pasta maker)

Cut strips about 6″ long, 3/4″ wide.   Tie 2 pieces into knots.

Fry in the oil until light brown, about 2 – 3 minutes?

Dust with confectioner’s sugar.

NUT BUTTER BALLS

(From Good Housekeeping “Book of Cookies”, 1958)

1 Cup soft butter or margarine

1/4 to 1/2 cup granulated, powdered or confectioner’s sugar.  Amt. depends on taste.

1/2 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Almond extract or 1 tsp. Vanilla extract

2 cups sifted All-Purpose Flour

1 to 2 cups finely chopped or ground walnuts, pecans, almonds, black walnuts, brazil nuts or filberts.

Mix butter with sugar until creamy.

Add salt, extract, flour nuts; mix well.

Refrigerate until easy to handle.

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Using fingers, shape dough into 1” balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 10-12 minutes or until light brown.

While cookies are warm, roll in sugar.

Makes 4 – 5 doz.

Jo Natoli’s Peanut Blossom Cookies

48 Hershey Kisses

1 3/4 cup flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown suger

1/2 cup margarine / butter

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 egg

2 tbsp. Milk

1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Combine everything except kisses in a large bowl, mix on low speed.

Make 48 dough balls  (EXACTLY 48!!!  Not 45, not 46, not 49.  48 or you’ll screw it all up!!!!!!)

Place on ungreased cookie sheet

Bake 10 to 12 minutes

IMMEDIATELY push kiss down into center of cookie or all will be lost and you’ll have to get 48 more kisses and make 48 more dough balls and start the whole process over again which will probably take you right up to the new year and you don’t want that to happen do you?

Cool on cooling rack.  Placing them on a warming rack would just be silly.

Jo Natoli’s Chow Mein Cookies

2 – 6 ounce packages Butterscotch morsels

1 – 3 ounce can of chow mein noodles

1 cup salted peanuts

Melt the morsels in a double boiler

Remove it from the heat

Stir in the noodles and nuts.

Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper.

Tiramisu Layer Cake (Nigella Lawson)

CAKE

6 Jumbo Sized Chocolate Muffins – 3lbs total weight  (maybe chocolate pound cake, or some other moist chocolate cake)

1.25 Cups Tia Maria

1 – 2 tsp unsweetened Cocoa Powder for dusting

Chocolate Covered Coffee beans (optional for presentation)

FILLING

2 Eggs

1/3 cup superfine suger

2 Cups (1 lb) of marscapone cheese

1 Cup Heavy Cream

1/2 Cup Tia Maria

Wrap the outside of the 9” springform pan with plastic wrap or aluminum foil to avoid leaks from the base.

Slice the chocolate muffins thinly with serrated knife

Pour the 1.25 cups of Tia Maria into a shallow dish ready for soaking the muffin slices as you need them. (Note, you might need more Tia Maria)

Before you start to layer the cake, whisk the eggs and sugar and then beat in the marscapone and heavy cream.

Add gradually the 1/2 cup Tia Maria to make a creamy spreadable layer for the cake.

Using approx. 2 Muffins per layer, dunk the slices into Tia Maria before lining the pan with them.

Squidge them down, each layer should not be too thick, but juicily compact and solid.

If the muffin slices are tricky to dunk, then press them down into the pan and then spoon the Tia Maria over them.

Spread 1/3 of the cream mixture over the layer of muffin slices.

Repeat with another layer of soaked muffin slices and cream again.

Finish with a layer of muffin slices, NOT as soaked as the first two layers.

Reserve the last 1/3 of the cream mixture for later in a covered bowl.

Press this top layer down to make it as smooth as possible, then cover it with plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight or for up to four days.

Chestnut Chocolate Pots. (Nigella)

Makes six 4oz glasses

Heaping 3/4 cup best quality, bittersweet chocolate chopped or chips.

1/2 cup heavy cream plus more to serve if you wish.

1/2 cup whole milk

1 egg

3/4 cup (9 oz can) sweetened chestnut cream.

2 Tbsp dark rum

Crush the chocolate to smithereens in the food processor.

In a saucepan, heat the cream and milk until just about boiling and with the motor off pour into a food processor through the funnel.

Let it stand for 30 seconds.

Process for 30 seconds.

Crack the egg down the funnel and process for another 45 seconds.

Add the chestnut cream and rum through the funnel and process until everything is incorporated.

Remove the blade, use a rubber spatula and spoon, fill six 4oz glasses or pots.

If wished put a jug of unwhipped heavy cream over their chocolate as they eat.

Make Ahead Tip! – Make the pots up to 2 days in advance, cover with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator.

Freeze ahead tip! – Spoon the mixture into freezable ceramic dishes, cover and freeze for up to one week, thaw overnight in the refrigerator.

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