All Posts By: NANCY DeLUCIA REAL

Need a fresh, new salad? Make this sweet-and-savory salad with raspberries and Persian cucumbers (they’re small and loaded with flavor). The salad gets its kick from the raspberries’ sweet-tart flavor.

Serve this Raspberry-Cucumber Salad alongside fish or poultry or with vegetarian selections.

Prep time: 10 to 15 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
4 to 5 Persian cucumbers, peeled
Juice of 1 to 2 limes
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt and ground black pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon agave nectar
1/2 teaspoon Serrano chiles, minced (optional)
8 ounces fresh raspberries, rinsed and drained
Fresh mint sprigs, for garnish

Directions:
1. Cut each cucumber in half, lengthwise.

2. Cut each half, lengthwise – now you have fourths.

3. Cut the cucumber fourths crosswise into 1/4-inch pieces. Set aside in a glass or porcelain serving bowl.

4. Repeat same cutting procedure with the remaining cucumbers; add them to the bowl. Set aside.

5. Add lime juice, olive oil, salt, black pepper, agave nectar and Serrano chiles to cucumbers in bowl; toss and set aside.

6. Add the raspberries and gently toss, taking care not to crush them.

7. Taste and adjust seasonings. Garnish with mint leaves and serve immediately.

Text and Photograph ©2016 Nancy DeLucia Real

These delicious cookies are from Mexico. They’re called pastelitos or little cakes. I think they look like Easter eggs. Hence, they’re a perfect dessert for Easter Sunday.

Everyone will love the flaky texture and buttery-cinnamon flavors of these melt-in-your-mouth Easter cookies!

Prep time: 25 to 30 minutes
Bake time: 25 minutes
Makes: 36 o 38 cookies

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups all-purpose, unbleached flour
1 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup sifted, powdered sugar (for garnish)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325°F.

2. Sift flour, cornstarch and cinnamon into a 3-cup bowl; set aside.

3. Line two 18X12-inch baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.

4. In a 4-cup bowl or a stand mixer bowl, combine the butter and sugar; beat until light and fluffy.

5. Gradually add the flour mixture into the butter-sugar mixture.

6. Mix well and knead until a smooth dough forms.

7. With your hands, take a small piece of dough and shape it into a 3/4-inch ball.

8. Place it on one of the parchment-lined baking sheets.

9. Continue forming 3/4-inch balls of dough, placing them 2 inches apart on baking sheets.

10. Set baking sheets in oven and bake the cookies for 12 minutes.

11. After 12 minutes, invert upper baking sheet with bottom baking sheet; bake for an additional 12 to 13 minutes.

12. After 12 or 13 minutes, check underside of one cookie. It should look light golden brown. If it is not light golden brown, bake the cookies for an additional 5 minutes.

13. Remove the baking sheets with cookies from oven and set them on a counter to cool.

Serve the Easter Cookies:
1. When cookies have cooled, set them on a serving platter, garnished with sifted, powdered sugar.

2. FOR MAKING AHEAD: When cookies have cooled completely, sore them in double Ziploc® freezer bags up to 3 weeks ahead.

3. FOR THAWING & SERVING: Remove cookies from freezer and Ziploc® freezer bags. Place cookies on a platter to thaw for 4 hours (covered with aluminum foil). When ready to serve cookies, garnish them with sifted, powdered sugar.
Text & Photograph ©2016 Nancy DeLucia Real

Prep time: 15 minutes
Bake time: 12 to 15 minutes

Need a fresh pizza with fresh ingredients in minutes? Simply pick up some readymade pizza dough, Arugula, onions and a bell pepper. Add a few herbs and olive oil.

Then, walk out of your 3-Michelin-star kitchen wearing a toque or chef’s hat. Serve this Arugula, Onion & Bell Pepper Pizza, and you’ve just knocked ’em dead!

Ingredients:
1/3 cup olive oil
One Trader Joe’s® Plain Pizza Dough (in refrigerated section of store), set on counter at room temperature for 1 hour
1/2 of a red onion, thinly sliced
4 to 5 green onions, dark tips removed and flesh cut into circles
1/2 of a red or green bell pepper, thinly sliced
2 cups wild Arugula leaves, washed and spun-dry
2 sprigs fresh oregano leaves, chopped or 1 teaspoon dried Oregano
1 tablespoon thyme leaves (stripped from their stems)
Salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450°F.

2. Spread about 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil on a 12X18-inch rectangular baking sheet; set aside.

3. Place the pizza dough on the oiled baking sheet. With oiled fingers, gently extend the dough by pressing in its center with your fingertips – take care not to tear the dough.

4. Continue extending the dough until it covers entire surface of baking sheet.

5. Drizzle remaining olive oil evenly over dough.

6. Place onions, bell pepper, Arugula leaves, oregano and thyme leaves evenly over dough.

7. Sprinkle salt and pepper, to taste.

8. Set the baking sheet with assembled pizza on a rack positioned in center of oven.

9. Bake the pizza for 7 to 8 minutes.

10. After 7 to 8 minutes, lower oven temperature to 400°F.

11. Bake the pizza for an additional 5 to 6 minutes or until bottom of crust looks golden brown when lifted with a spatula.

12. Serve the pizza hot with your favorite red or white wine.
Text & Photograph ©2016 Nancy DeLucia Real

Petits fours is French, for small ovens. In the eighteenth century, cooks and pastry makers baked miniature confectionaries or appetizers in smaller ovens, next to the main ovens.

Serve these romantic Petits fours to your sweetheart on February 14th! They’re also perfect for that Valentine’s Day party, since they come in single servings.

Prep time: 40 minutes (for glazing & decoration)
Bake time: 30 to 40 minutes
Yield: 12 to 16 single-serving cakes (petits fours)

Ingredients for the Cake:
2/3 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1½ cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1½ teaspoons vanilla
2¾ cups all-purpose, unbleached flour
2½ teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
1¼ cups milk

Directions for the Cake:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 13x9x2-inch baking pan.

2. In a large mixer bowl, mix butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla until fluffy.

3. Beat for 2 minutes, scraping bowl with a rubber spatula occasionally.

4. On low speed, mix in the flour, baking powder and salt alternately with milk.

5. Pour the batter into prepared pan.

6. Place pan with batter on a rack positioned in center of preheated oven.

7. Bake the cake 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, place a pointed knife in center of cake to check for doneness – if knife comes out clean, the cake is done.

8. If the knife has batter clinging to it, bake the cake for an additional 5 to 7 minutes. Check cake once more by inserting knife in its center.

9. Let cake cool in pan on a kitchen counter or a wooden board.

10. When cake is cool, cut it into 12 to 16 equal pieces.
Note: each piece should measure 2 x 2 inches. Set aside on a baking sheet covered with parchment or aluminum foil.

Meanwhile, prepare the glaze and decoration for cakes-

Ingredients for the Glaze & Decoration:
2 pounds (32 ounce) confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar)
2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons juice from fresh lemons
One 4.25-ounce tube green decorating icing (for leaves)
One 4.25-ounce tube red or pink decorating icing (for flower)
One rosette-shaped plastic cake decorating tip -and-
One flat-ended plastic cake decorating tip (both available at cake decorating supply shops or online)
16 cupcake papers
Optional: You can use color of your choice for flower decoration.

Directions for Glazing the Cakes:
1. In a large mixing bowl, combine glaze ingredients.

2. Beat on low speed just until blended; beat on high until smooth.

3. Apply glaze evenly over tops, letting the glaze drip on sides of cakes.

4. Set the glazed cakes aside to dry.

5. When cakes are dry, place a rosette cake decorating tip on desired color icing tube.

6. Squeeze tube to create a rosette or flower in center top of each cake.

7. Place a flat-ended decorating tip on green icing tube and pipe a leaf on each side of flower on center top of cakes.

8. Place cakes on flattened cupcake papers set on a serving platter.

9. Alternatively, place cakes directly on serving platter. Cover with tented foil until ready to serve.
Text and Photograph ©2016 Nancy DeLucia Real

Here’s a delicious soup that’ll keep you warm in the next few months. This meatball and spinach soup is made with ground turkey but you can use beef, lamb or pork. Fresh spinach and some carrots are added to the broth – this makes it low-cal and healthy.

Prep time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4 to 6

Ingredients:
1 pound ground dark turkey meat, beef, lamb or pork
1/2 cup grated onion (brown or white)
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1 large carrot, peeled and minced
1/3 cup finely chopped flatleaf, Italian parsley
3/4 teaspoon salt
Dash grated nutmeg (optional)
8 to 10 cups chicken broth
6 cups chopped, fresh spinach or chard (or a combination of both)
Salt, to taste

Directions:
1. In a large, glass or porcelain bowl, combine the ground meat, onion, egg, 3 tablespoons of the minced carrots, parsley, salt and nutmeg.

2. Mix with a fork or with your hands (you can use plastic cooks’ gloves to mix with hands) until mixture is uniform.

3. Shape and form meatballs to measure 1-1/2-inches in diameter; set the meatballs aside on a large platter.

4. Meanwhile, in an 8-quart sauce pot, bring the chicken broth to a boil.

5. When the broth boils, gently drop the meatballs into the broth, taking care to avoid hot splatters.

6. Bring the meatballs to a boil and cook them on medium-high heat for approximately 20 minutes.

7. After 20 minutes, cut into one meatball to check doneness. If meat is still pink, cook the meatballs for an additional 5 to 7 minutes.

8. When meatballs are cooked through, add the spinach and carrot pieces to the soup.

9. Cook the soup for an additional 4 to 5 minutes or until the carrots are crunchy-tender.

10. Taste the broth. If needed, add salt, to taste.

11. Serve the soup with your favorite bread.
Text and Photograph ©2016 Nancy DeLucia Real