Chicken Enchilada Soup and A Book Review #LitHappens

Filled with all the flavors of Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas this soup is ready in less than an hour.  Serve with a side of Corn Bread and a Margarita for a Fiesta in the middle of the week.

I made up this soup for a busy Taco Tuesday dinner after running errands all day.  We got home from the orthodontist, our last stop, and were starving.  This soup, using leftover chicken, was ready in half an hour.  That is a Win/Win in my book.  A quick, delicious meal that uses leftovers......

Torta Salata Pasquale #EasterRecipes #BreadBakers

Welcome to Day 2 of Easter Week, hosted by Christie of A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures.  We are gathering each day this week to share some wonderful Easter recipes that can really be eaten any day of the year.

Today is also Bread Bakers day.  A group, under the direction of Stacy of Food Lust People Love, that get together on the second Tuesday of each month to share a bread recipe based on a theme chosen by one of the members.  Pavani of SpiceRoots is hosting this month and asked us all to make Breads from Italy.

I found this recipe for Torta Salata Pasquale in a cookbook I have, Saveur Cooks Authentic Italian and did a little happy dance.  This traditional Italian Easter Bread perfectly covers both of my challenges today.

This is one of my favorite cookbooks. It contains little stories and blurbs throughout talking about how a dish came to be popular, how the ingredients are grown and used. how and why the families use and serve the recipes according to region, etc.  When you flip through this cookbook you feel as if you have just stepped onto Italian ground.  The photos are just awesome.

This bread was quick to put together and it was such a surprisingly different taste than what I am used to.  You know that thing your mind does when you pick up a glass of water and take a drink to find out that it is really juice or pop?  Our minds are programmed to expect a certain taste when we hear "bread" or "Italian bread" and just get blown away when it doesn't taste like our minds expect.

The liquid in this bread is a combination of olive oil and wine, giving it a very fruity taste.  Then add in the richness of the prosciutto, mortadella and olives and it is like taking a bite of a coffee cake that is not at all sweet but so decadent that it "feels" sweet.

I don't think I am, or can, properly describe this amazing bread.  It would be a wonderful addition to your Easter celebration or your next brunch table.  I immediately thought of a picnic when I was enjoying it.  It would be perfect on a picnic with a good bottle of wine.  You wouldn't need anything else in the picnic basket.  This bread would be a perfect, complete meal.

This is a "quick" bread, meaning that there is no yeast used so there is no need to allow time for the dough to rise before baking.  The leavener in this bread is baking powder so you don't need to get up at the crack of dawn in order to enjoy this bread during a brunch or an early dinner.

You will find a slew more of recipes perfect for Easter as well as more Italian bread recipes at the bottom of this post.  I am also linking up this recipe over at Foodie Reads.

Torta Salata Pasquale

(Easter Bread with Prosciutto and Olives)

very slightly adapted from Saveur Cooks Authentic Italian

3 3/4 c. flour

1 1/2 T. baking powder

3/4 c. good olive oil

1/2 c. water

1 1/4 c. dry white wine

6 eggs, beaten

1/4 lb. prosciutto slices, cut into bite size pieces

1/4 lb. mortadella slices, cut into bite size pieces

1 c. whole black olives, seeded and coarsely chopped

1/2 c. shredded Italian Cheese blend (parmesan, asiago, romano)

Freshly ground pepper

Sift together the flour and baking powder in a large bowl.  Make a well in the center and add the olive oil, water and wine.  Whisk together until well blended.  Stir in the eggs, then add the meats, olives and cheese. Season, generously, with the ground pepper and pour into a greased and floured 8.5x11" baking pan. Bake in a preheated 350* oven for 50-60 minutes, until risen and golden brown.  Cool completely before slicing and serving.  Print Recipe

More Easter Week Recipes

• Italian Easter Bread by Palatable Pastime
• Carrot Cake Pancakes by Sew You Think You Can Cook
• Torta Salata Pasquale by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Dill Roasted Radishes by A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures
• Roasted Parmesan Asparagus by Family Around The Table
• Praying Arm Pretzels by Amy’s Cooking Adventures
• Creamy Coconut Mini Tarts by Making the Most of Naptime

More Italian Bread Recipes

• Casatiello by A Shaggy Dough Story
• Ciabatta Sandwich Rolls by Herbivore Cucina
• Classic Italian Bread by Hostess At Heart
• Cornetti by Gayathri's Cook Spot
• Einkorn Parmesan Piadina by The Wimpy Vegetarian
• Fingermillet and Rosemary Focaccia by Sizzling Tastebuds
• Focaccia Caprese by Sneha's Recipe
• Grissini by Sara's Tasty Buds
• Gubana - An Italian Sweet Bread by The Schizo Chef
• Il Pane di Matera by Food Lust People Love
• Italian BLT Focaccia by A Salad For All Seasons
• Italian Easter Bread by Palatable Pastime
• Italian Easter Cheese Bread by A Baker's House
• Italian Herb and Garlic Focaccia by Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Italian Stuffed Pane Bianco by Cook's Hideout
• Mini Panettone by Mayuri's Jikoni
• Pane Bianco by Veenas Vegnation
• Pane di Genzano by Spiceroots
• Piadina by Passion Kneaded
• Pizza alla Siciliana by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Rosemary and Cabernet Salt Focaccia by What Smells So Good?
• Torta Salata Pasquale by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Tuscan Coffeecake by Ambrosia

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send Stacy an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com

Shakrlama #CooktheBooks #FilltheCookieJar

I am joining up with a new (to me) group this month called Fill the Cookie Jar.  This group is led by Cynthia of Feeding Big who has chosen themes for each month and then invites others to post a cookie recipe that fits the theme on the third Thursday of each month.  You can learn more about it here.

This month's theme is Thanksgiving/Fall.  The possibilities for this theme are endless.  My first thought was to make a spicy cookie like these Pumpkin Spice Cookie Blossoms or Snickerdoodles. But then, I was reading the book selected for Cook the Books and found this recipe for Shakrlama and knew that it was what I wanted to share to introduce myself to this group.

Cook the Books is a fun little group that assigns books bimonthly, chosen by a new host each month. We are invited to read the book and make a recipe that was inspired by said book.  This month our host is Simona of Briciole, who also happens to be one of our fearless leaders in this group.  Simona chose the novel, Tomorrow There Will Be Apricots by Jessica Soffer.   There is still a lot of time to join us if you would like as the deadline for posting on this novel is not until November 30th.  You can read Simona's invitation post  or stop by Cook the Books for more information.

This is a novel about a young girl who is being raised (or raising, as the case may be) by a very needy, self centered and unnurturing mother.  The girl, Lorca, searches for ways to get her mother's approval without success.  Lorca so badly needs to feel something.....anything.....that she, at a very young age, learned to find comfort in pain and is now a young teenage girl who self mutilates every chance she gets.

Lorca, overhearing a conversation between her mother and aunt, goes off in search of a recipe for Masgouf, which her mother described as the best meal she had ever eaten.  Lorca finds the owner of the restaurant where her mother had eaten the Masgouf.  This woman, Victoria, has just lost her husband after a long illness.  She decides to give cooking lessons and her sole student is Lorca. Victoria is suffering guilt from the decision she made, years earlier, to adopt out a child that she had. She now believes that Lorca is the child of the one she gave away years earlier....

I will not give you any spoilers.  I did not love this book but I did not hate it either.  This book made me angry and made me sad.  It made me want to enfold Lorca in a maternal hug and ensure that she knows that she is worthwhile and loveable.

Lorca contacts Victoria after the first cooking lesson and asks to come back, stating her mother is not feeling well and she would like to make her something to help her feel better.  Victoria decides to make a recipe that was a favorite of her husbands, Shakrlama.

I googled Shakrlama and learned that it was an Arabic butter cookie with almonds, pistachios or both. I also found that the author of the book, Jessica Soffer, had printed her recipe for these cookies in the Book Club Cookbook.

I made the recipe just as written by Jessica, using slivered almonds instead of sliced.  They were lovely and a perfect recipe to Fill the Cookie Jar.

You will find the other Fill the Cookie Jar entries following the recipe for these tender, delightful little morsels.  Stay tuned at the end of November when Simona does a round up of all the recipes inspired by Tomorrow There Will Be Apricots.  I am also linking up with Foodies Read 2016.

Shakrlama (Almond Butter Cookies)

courtesy of Jessica Soffer

1 stick butter, room temperature

1/2 c. powdered sugar

1 c. + 1 t. flour

1/4 t. ground cardamom

1 t. rosewater 

1/4 t. vanilla

pinch salt

48 slivered almonds

Place the butter, sugar, flour, cardamom, rosewater, vanilla and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Turn to low speed and beat until combined, increase speed and beat until well mixed and a ball is formed.

Divide the ball into 12 equal pieces.  Roll pieces into balls and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Using a glass, dipped in powdered sugar, flatten each ball into a 2" round.  Place 4 slivered almonds on each cookie.  Refrigerate for 15 minutes before baking in a preheated 350*oven for 8-10 minutes or until lightly golden brown.  

Cool on baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. Print Recipe