My Matchless Mother and Me: With Recipes, Music and Memories

By Lucille Rose D'Armi-Riggio

When I was a little girl I always loved to bake and cook with my Mother in the kitchen and of course sing and entertain until my Mother laughed so hard she cried! If you love to Cook Beautiful Food and are a Lover of Music, you will want to have my Recipe Book on your kitchen counter. With my new book, which includes my Music CD, you are not only getting almost 100 Recipes in Chapter 1; I may say there is a little storytelling, the growing years and family memoir in Chapter 2; the Lyrics to my original Compositions to sing along with in Chapter 3; the story behind the Lyrics in Chapter 4; and last of all, Lucille’s life with Joe, a memoir in Chapter 5. There are 244 pages of pure enjoyment, delicious recipes in photographic colorful array and beautiful music sets the scene. I’ve combined my talents and passions for cooking and music and it’s never too late to discover a new talent.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Sep 18, 2015
• ISBN: 9781483559230

Book preview

Chapter 1:

The Matchless Recipe Section, you’ll love each and every recipe I’ve selected for this book!

Breakfast

And

Breads!

ATTENTION Important Matchless Notes:

Adjust your oven temperatures accordingly. Electric ovens will make your item FASTER than Gas ovens.

Blueberry Scones

(…love these scones…)

Ingredients: (makes 1 dozen)

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, sifted

½ cup of pancake mix, sifted

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 ½ teaspoons baking powder

¾ teaspoon salt

4 ounces (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 cup fresh blueberries

½ cup vanilla soymilk or buttermilk

1 large egg, plus 1 large egg lightly beaten for egg wash

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

Sprinkling of fine sugar

Directions:

Whisk together flours, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Cut in butter with pastry cutter, or use your fingers, until mixture has the texture of coarse meal. Then stir in your blueberries. Then whisk together soymilk or buttermilk, 1 large egg and vanilla, then pour over your flour mixture, stir lightly with a fork until dough comes together.

On a flat surface, place your dough onto a counter and gently knead dough once or twice just to incorporate flour. Pat dough into a 1-inch thick round and cut into 12 wedges. Place your 12 wedges onto a baking sheet with or without parchment paper. Brush with the egg wash and sprinkle with sugar and place into the oven. Bake at 375 degrees on the center shelf. At about 18 minutes in the oven, take the scones out and brush with the egg wash and sprinkle with sugar the 2nd time around. Then place back into the oven for about 4-5 minutes more until golden brown. Total baking time is about 22 minutes. When they look golden brown, take the scones out of the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Matchless Notes:

The secret to making delicate scones is handling the dough as little as possible. All-purpose flour is the less expensive flour and has the longest shelf life. Scones are best served immediately but can be frozen for up to 1 month. Blueberries contain a fair amount of iron plus some potassium and vitamins A and C. An excellent natural laxative and a cup of blueberries supplies 90 calories. Raisins can be a substitution for blueberries.

Butter Roses

(…cute Garlic buds!)

Ingredients:

½ cup or 1 stick of soften butter

1 large clove of chopped or crushed garlic

1 teaspoon parsley

½ teaspoon basil

Matchless Note: combine your own favorite herb

2 tablespoons of Pecorino Romano cheese

Directions:

First you soften butter, (a gluten free food), sautéed the crushed garlic lightly in a frying pan (don’t burn it), then add your herbs and cheese and mix. Set aside. If you can find fancy molds, I use ROSE molds, just place the mixture in the molds and place in the freezer overnight before any get together or party. You can place on parchment paper and cookie sheet if you need to make a large amount. You can freeze up to six (6) months. This is a fun thing and you and your guest will enjoy these Garlic butter buds spread over Italian or French bread. Delicious!

Matchless Notes:

Garlic, a bulb that is first cousin to the onion and originated in central Asia has long been a popular flavoring in the cuisines of Italy, France and China to name a few. Buy heads of garlic sold loose rather than boxed because it’s hard to tell if the head is fresh in the box. Make sure they are plump, firm, dry and free of any spots. According to research studies, garlic may help to lower blood pressure and help fight diabetes, cancer and infections. The rose molds come in six or more. You can find the molds in a specialty type kitchen store at any mall. You can also just make plain butter buds too! Enjoy and have fun with the molds.

Chive and Tarragon Biscuits

(…yes, yes, yes…)

Ingredients: (serves 8-9)

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour, sifted

2 ¼ teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt or kosher

1 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons minced fresh or dried chives

½ tablespoon dried tarragon leaves

1/3 cup salted butter, melted

Directions:

Combine the first 3 ingredients in a medium bowl; make a well in the center of the mixture and pour in the heavy cream and about 3 tablespoons of melted butter. Stir enough until dry ingredients are moistened. Using your hands, knead dough lightly 3 or 4 times and only until well blended onto lightly floured surface. If you knead the dough too much, the dough will become hard and stiff and biscuits will not rise properly and become flaky. Gently knead in the chives and tarragon leaves.

Form dough into a 10 inch log; cut log into 8 or 9 slices. Then gently flatten each slice into a 2-inch round. Place the dough on a greased baking sheet and brush rounds with melted butter the first time. Place your baking pan on the center rack of the oven. Bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes. Check on these beauty biscuits in about 15 minutes and baste with butter a second time until lightly golden brown and ready to remove from the oven. These biscuits can be used just with a spread of butter or crab cake sandwich. A delightful taste that will make your company so happy they were invited to your home for any gathering or party.

Matchless Notes:

Chives are rich in vitamins A and C and ideal to add to eggs, dips and sauces and are a member of the onion family. Tarragon is an elegant flavor and essential in Italian and French cooking, plus it’s also an ideal spice for chicken. Be creative, you can use this batter with other herbs as well or without the herbs and or with a little jam.

Cinnamon, Strawberry, Walnut Pancake

(…just love strawberries…)

Ingredients: (serves 1) a large pancake

½ cup Pancake batter

¼ cup Soy milk or regular milk

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

6-7 strawberries sliced or your favorite fruit

2 tablespoons walnuts

Sprinkle of powdered sugar

Directions:

Mix your pancake batter and milk together first then sprinkle in your cinnamon. Get your pancake griddle nice and hot, then pour the batter in and let the batter cook for few seconds to become a bit firm. Then add your walnut pieces and layer over the batter. Once you have taken the pancake out of the skillet, add your fresh strawberries and sprinkle of powdered sugar. There you have it! Your breakfast is ready to be served and eaten.

Garnishes:

You can always add your favorite fruits for example: sliced apples, figs, pears, or more walnuts to your plate. You can use your imagination and be creative in the morning. Of course, don’t forget your favorite cup of Joe coffee or tea. A great way to start the day!

Matchless Notes:

Strawberries are high in vitamin C but loose this vitamin rapidly after they are cut. Rich in potassium and contain a fair amount of iron. There are about 55 calories in a cup of whole fresh berries. Soy milk is lower in sugar then regular homogenized milk. I use a vanilla flavor. Walnuts are a great addition and about 7 shelled nuts or one ounce, has 185 calories and are delicious.

Cranberry Nut Bread with Pistachio’s

(….taste great too…)

Ingredients: (serves 8-10)

2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted

1 cup granulated sugar

1 ½ teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon baking soda

¾ cup orange juice

1 tablespoon grated orange peel

2 tablespoons corn oil

1 egg, well beaten

1 ½ cups Fresh or Frozen Cranberries, coarsely chopped

½ cup Fresh Pistachio’s, chopped

Directions:

Combine together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a mixing bowl. Stir in orange juice, orange peel, corn oil and egg. Mix until well blended. Stir in cranberries and pistachios. Spread evenly into a well greased and floured 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan. It’s a thick batter. Preheat your oven and bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes or until a toothpick or baking stick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 15 minutes. Remove from pan; cool completely. The loaf is ready to eat warm or wrap and store overnight in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve it. You also can freeze a loaf until you are ready to use it.

Matchless Notes:

Cranberries can be frozen in your freezer for up to one (1) year in the plastic package they come in and they stay fresh. I like to double bag them in the freezer. Before you may add sugar to cranberries, there are only 44 calories in a cup of whole cranberries. One ounce of Pistachio nuts has about 168 calories. A great loaf at Christmas time or any time Cranberries are in season. So stock up!

One other thing, should you want to split this batter in two (2) small loafs, use two (2) 8 x 4 inch loaf pans.

Easter Bread I

(…in my Family forever…)

Ingredients (1st): (makes 6 circular braded loaves)

2 envelopes of Active Dry Yeast

1 cup of warm water

1 ½ cups of all-purpose flour, sifted (12 oz)

Directions (1st):

Mix the three (3) ingredients together in a bowl and cover bowl with wax paper to rise for 1 ½ hours or more. Keep the covered bowl in a warm location for better rising.

Ingredients (2nd):

¾ cup of butter (6 oz)

2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract

1 cup of granulated sugar

1 teaspoon of salt

4 eggs

Directions (2nd):

Mix the 2nd step ingredients well in a separate bowl. Make sure the melted butter is cooled down before you scramble the eggs into the bowl. Set aside for an hour and a half. Once the time is up, add all of the 2nd ingredients mixture to the 1st ingredients mixture.

Ingredients (3rd):

4 cups of all-purpose flour, sifted (32 oz)

½ cup of raisins (optional)

(1 egg beaten and 2 tablespoons of milk for basting dough)

Directions (3rd):

Now add the 3rd step of ingredients to the 2nd set of ingredients and start to knead the dough until it is smooth. Use flour as needed when kneading the dough