Gorgonzola is a blue cow’s milk cheese originally from the small town of Gorgonzola, located less than 15 miles northeast of Milan. For more information on this legendary Italian blue, be sure to check out Chef Matteo Carboni’s video presentation.

In this recipe, the spicy, piquant flavor of the gorgonzola is balanced by the sweetness of the fresh pear sauce. Follow the chef’s directions for making a perfectly rewarding risotto.
What a wonderful way to finish your day.

RISOTTO WITH GORGONZOLA AND FRESH PEAR SAUCE
Serves 4 to 6

INGREDIENTS
For the pear sauce:
- 3 pears, medium-sized
- ½ clove garlic
- 2 sprigs of marjoram
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- 2 tbsp of Academia Barilla 100% Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the risotto:
- 8 oz Carnaroli or Vialone Nano rice
- ½ onion
- 6 cups vegetable stock
- 3 oz gorgonzola
- 1 oz butter
- 1 oz Academia Barilla Parmigiano Reggiano aged 18
- 2 tbsp of Academia Barilla 100% Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- salt and freshly ground black pepper

PREPARATION
The Pear Sauce
Cut the pears into quarters. Peel and core them. Peel garlic clove and cut in half. Heat a tbsp or two of Academia Barilla 100% Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil in a pot and add garlic, roughly chopped pears and marjoram. Stir and let cook for a few minutes. Then, season with salt and pepper. Add vegetable stock and cook until soft. When pears are done cooking, remove from heat and set aside.

The Risotto
Begin to prepare the risotto by chopping 1/2 onion. Add a couple tbsp Academia Barilla 100% Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil to a pot. When the oil is hot, add finely chopped onion and a pinch of salt and stir. When onion is soft, add rice and another pinch of salt. Stir constantly so rice doesn’t stick and toasts uniformly. Once rice is toasted, start adding boiling stock, a ladleful at a time. When stock evaporates and rice becomes slightly dry, add more stock. Continue cooking in this way for 16 to 18 minutes, depending on the variety of rice.

Return your attention to the pears. Once cooked, add freshly ground black pepper to the pot and then blend into a smooth pear puree. Finish cooking the risotto. Remove from heat when risotto still has a little liquid. Add ½ of the gorgonzola and butter. Cover and let rest for a minute. Add remaining gorgonzola and Academia Barilla Parmigiano Reggiano aged 18 months. To serve, pour a ladleful of pear sauce into each bowl. Place 2 large spoonfuls of risotto on top of sauce. Finish with a sprig of marjoram and freshly ground black pepper.

This simple, seasonal dish is certain to keep you warm while you wait for spring. Thanks Chef Matteo for another great recipe to add to our collection.

As we get into 2009 and we move from a Christmas blog design to a Winter make-up, we want to share with you a delicious Season treat from Academia Barilla. We recently blogged about panettone, inviting you to bake your own one by presenting it as recipe of the month for the month of December. Today we introduce to you Academia Barilla’s lavish and exclusive version of the traditional Italian Christmas cake.

Academia Barilla and Master Pastry Chef Corrado Vicina are happy to introduce the Four Season Panettone (Panettone Quattro Stagioni), an exceptional combination of intense flavors that will make you discover, slice after slice, all the taste of four different ingredients in one panettone cake: chocolate for a Winter taste, cherries bring all the flavor of Spring, apricots stand for Summer and chestnuts to bring us back the autumn gourmet mood.

The presentation of the Four Season Panettone preparation included here above illustrates the process that requires Master Pastry Chef Corrado Vicina three full days of intensive artisanal preparation at the Academia Barilla Culinary Center in Parma, Italy. 

Chef Corrado Vicina, with the help of the Academia Barilla Chef Team, start processing the purest yeast with first choice quality ingredients, individually selected one by one.

The Academia Barilla Culinary Center has a Pastry Lab with professional, state-of-the-art bakery tools that allow creating the perfect dough for a mass yet limited production. Just few hundreds Four Season Panettones are baked each year, and they are available exclusively through the Academia Barilla Culinary Center in Parma, Italy.

Chef Corrado Vicina has a secret recipe for the Four Season Panettone, sorry we cannot share it - but we can tell you how the Four Season Panettone is made. 

As you can see from the slideshow, after processing the dough in the four flavor variations, the fours seasons merge together into a smooth hug after two days of leavening.

Before putting the cakes in the oven Chef Vicina puts his final Chef touch, a sprinkle of pure white almonds and a cloud of grains of white sugar. The panettone cakes are baked in transparent ovens, so the baking can be constantly overviewed.

After one hour of intense oven heat, the panettones get hung upside-down drying for an entire night, a 12-hours process that allows eliminating excess humidity and that will make the Four Season Panettone softer and fresher.

Academia Barilla’s Four Season Panettone gets a very simple yet elegant packaging: a protective inner plastic bag seals flavor and softness, while an hand-wrapped red wrap makes it perfect for a gourmet Season gift!

Happy New Year again from Academia Barilla and Italian Food Lovers!

The cookbook is written by Chef James McNair for San Francisco’s Chronicle Books and the images in this post, as in the previous post, are by photographer Patricia Brabant.

Today’s recipe is Chicken Scaloppine with Lemon and Capers Sauce, a poultry variation on a traditional Italian veal preparation.

Ready? Let’s cook it!

CHICKEN SCALOPPINE WITH LEMON AND CAPERS SAUCE
A recipe by Chef James McNair
(serves 4-6)

INGREDIENTS

- 6 boned and skinned chicken breast halves
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 to 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 to 2 teaspoons drained capers
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
- thin lemon slices for gamish
- parsley leaflets, preferably flat-leaf Italian type, for gamish

PREPARATION

Discard the tendons and any connecting tissue or fat from the chicken breasts; separate the little fillet and use it for another purpose or leave it attached and tuck it under the larger muscle. Leave small breasts whole; slice thicker ones in half horizontally.

Place breast pieces between 2 sheets of waxed paper and pound with a mallet or other flat instrument to a uniform thickness of about 1/8 inch. Set aside.

Heat the oil and 2 tablespoons of the butter in a sauté pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken scallops and sauté, turning once, until browned, about 4 to 5 minutes total cooking time. Remove chicken to a warm platter, season to taste with salt and pepper, and reserve.

Add the lemon juice and capers to the pan and heat, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to loosen browned bits. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and stir until melted. Stir in the minced parsley and pour the sauce over the scallops.

Garnish with lemon slices and parsley leaflets.

Thank you again BIGAB, and of course thank you also to celebrity Chef James McNair for this gourmet recipe.

The recipe is taken by the cookbook “Chicken” by celebrity Chef and cookbook writer James McNair, published by San Francisco publisher Chronicle Books.

The pictures in this blog post are taken from the same book, and are by photographer Patricia Brabant.

Ready? Let’s go to the kitchen!

CHICKEN BREAST STUFFED WITH HERBS AND CHEESE
A recipe by Chef James McNair
(serves 4 to 6)

INGREDIENTS

- 8 boned and skinned chicken breast halves
- 1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley, preferably flat-leaf Italian type
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh oregano, or 2 teaspoons dried oregano, finely crumbled
- 1-1/2 tablespoons minced fresh marjoram, or 1-1/2 teaspoons dried marjoram, finely crumbled
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- salt and freshly ground white pepper, to taste
- 1/4 pound Fontina or Bel Paese cheese
- flour for dredging
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 cup unseasoned fine dry bread crumbs, preferably made from Italian or French bread
- vegetable oil for frying
- 1/2 cup dry white wine

PREPARATION

Discard the tendons and any connecting tissue or fat from the chicken breasts; tuck the little fillet under the larger muscle.

Place breasts between 2 sheets of waxed paper and pound with a mallet or other flat instrument to a uniform thickness of about 1/8 inch. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Reserve.

Place butter in a food processor or blender and whip until light and fluffy. Add parsley, oregano, marjoram, and nutmeg and blend well. Reserve.

Cut the cheese lengthwise into 8 equal-sized pieces and place 1 piece crosswide on each reserved chicken piece. Equally distribute about half of the reserved herb butter among the chicken pieces, spreading it over the cheese.

Roll the breasts tightly around the cheese. Place the flour, eggs, and crumbs in 3 separate bowls. Dredge the chicken rolls lightly in flour, then dip into beaten e6gs, and finally roll in the bread crumbs.

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Pour vegetable oil to a depth of 1/8 inch in a heavy skillet, heat over medium heat, add the chicken rolls, and cook until lightly browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Transfer chicken rolls, seam side down, to a flat, ovenproof baking dish.

Melt the remaining herbed butter in a small saucepan, stir in the wine, and pour the mixture over the chicken. Bake, basting occasionally, until the chicken is golden brown and tender, about 15 minutes. Spoon pan drippings over chicken before serving.

Thank you to the BIGAB team, our colleagues from the Academia Barilla Gastronomic Library, for providing us with this traditional Bologna gourmet recipe. We actually got two chicken recipes from BIGAB, and we will publish the second one soon this week, so stay tuned!

First of all, we would like to say thank you to Barilla USA’s Chef Lorenzo Boni, Trattoria N. 10’s Chef Doug D’Avico, Francesca Restaurants’ Executive Chef Laura Piper, Pinstripes’ Chef Mark Grimes and Mado’s Chef Rob Levitt for sharing their recipes with us. Thank you again, see you again on Italian Food Lovers!

Just to recap, this year we had the pleasure to publish on Italian Food Lovers recipes for 7 gourmet dishes. Did you try any of them at home? 

• Sautéed Wild Mushrooms Bruschetta
• Grilled Baby Octopus with Watercress Salad and Oranges
• Farfalle Piccolini Pasta Salad
• Linguine Fagottaro Pasta Salad
• Lobster Bread Salad
• Chicken Parmesan with Campanelle Pasta
• Grilled Peach and Prosciutto with Parmigiano-Reggiano and Bulsamic Must

Also, we have to say thank you to Stephanie Sette from the Academia Barilla USA Marketing Team (in the picture above) for getting all the content together for us (she does it all the time with the US events content, by the way) and of course also to Academia Barilla Italian Culinary Specialist Mario Rizzotti, who has been conducing several rounds of educational and tasting demos during the Barilla Italian Cooking Weekend.

In these pictures taken during the Barilla Italian Cooking Weekend Mario Rizzotti shares his Italian culinary knowledge with the show participants, teaching them how to professionally taste some of the best Italian gourmet products, such Italian extra virgin olive oils and traditional Italian cheese specialties such as Parmigiano-Reggiano and the several varieties of Pecorino, from Sardinian Pecorino Dolce to Pecorino Toscano DOP and Pecorino Sardo Gran Cru. Follow the link to see more pictures of Mario Rizzotti’s tasting demos at the Chicago Botanic Garden.

A final thank you goes of course also to all the guests and visitors and participated to the Chicago’s Chef show. If you liked the Italian cooking and Italian food culture you experienced at the Chicago Botanic Garden, you now you can find it also here on Italian Food Lovers all year round!

Also remember that you can experience the flavor and taste of Academia Barilla’s Italian gourmet food specialties all year round too, they are all available at the Academia Barilla online store, where you can also find Italian cookbooks, Chef tools, Italian gastronomy gift boxes and gift certificates!