Ricotta Pie is a traditional Easter dessert in many Italian households. That is when it was introduced to me.
This is my take on the classic ricotta pie. With a swirl of cinnamon and mini chocolate chips, it tastes like a cannoli. Yummers!
Cannoli (Ricotta) Pie
1 Prepared Pie Crust, Raw
1 1/2 Lbs Of Ricotta (I use low fat)
3/4 Cup Sugar
5 Large Eggs
1 Tablespoon Vanilla
1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon
1 Teaspoon Lemon Zest
1 Cup Semi Sweet Mini Chocolate Chips
It is important that the ricotta cheese is drained well so that you get a nice firm filling. Drain it overnight in the fridge or a couple of hours before you put it together.
Press crust into a 9-inch pie pan. Crimp the edge, prick the bottom, and chill while making the filling.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl beat the ricotta with the sugar until very smooth.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla, cinnamon, and lemon zest. Stir in chocolate chips.
Pour the filling into the pie shell.
Sprinkle the top with cinnamon and swirl it with the tip of a knife.
Bake the pie for 45 minutes, or until ricotta is set and toothpick comes out clean.
Turn off the oven and leave the door open. Allow pie to slowly cool in the oven for about an hour. Then chill completely in the refrigerator before you serve it.
Delish!!
My great-grandparents immigrated to America to escape the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia. They didn't have a lot when they arrived in the New World. But they brought with them their culture and traditions.
On such tradition was Slovak Easter Breakfast. This breakfast includes fresh baked bread, Easter cheese, baked ham, kielbasi, hard boiled eggs and beet horseradish.
This is a custom that I enjoy and maintain. It's something I look forward to every year.
A primary component of Slovak Easter breakfast is Easter cheese (cirak). The Easter cheese isn't really a cheese at all. It's more like a firm egg custard. It can make a lovely accompaniment to any Easter dish.
I love it and I think you will too!
Slovak Easter Cheese (Cirak)
12 Eggs
1 Cup White Sugar
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1 Dash Ground Nutmeg
6 Cups Milk
Crack eggs into a large mixing bowl and beat slightly. Stir in sugar, salt, vanilla and nutmeg. Set aside.
Heat milk in large saucepan over low heat until almost boiling, do not scorch. Slowly stir in egg mixture, whisking constantly. Cook over low heat, stirring, until the mixture takes on the texture of scrambled eggs. The whey will separate so there will be a bit of liquid.
Pour the hot mixture into a cheesecloth lined colander. OR, what I do is stretch a clean nylon stocking (a knee high or ankle high) over a wide mouth jar or a bowl.
Lift the cheesecloth (or stocking) out of bowl, squeezing to remove as much liquid as you can. You can make one large ball, but I usually make two smaller ones.
Be careful, it will be VERY hot. I always end up burning myself, so fair warning.
Tie cloth up tightly. Let it hang over sink or bowl for up to 3 hours. I make a loop at the end of the stocking and hang it over the sink from a cabinet knob.
Cover with a damp linen and place in refrigerator for at least 24 hours.
Remove cheesecloth (or stocking) and slice to serve.
Note: you can save the liquid that drains off. You can use it as a milk/water replacement for baking. It's is sweet and goes great in oatmeal and creates a silky textured bread.
Have you ever wondered how bloggers get their ideas? Think about it . . . some bloggers, like me, write about something or other every single day. How do I get all those fabulous ideas . . . and all that time to cook, too! For me sometimes it's a random thought that inspires a post and sometimes it's something like this (a real IM conversation between hubby and me) . . .
So there it is . . . sometimes that's how it happens. And now I have a blogpost.
Now, about those eggs. Hubby's family has an Easter tradition where they bump their (presumably) hard boiled egg against someone else's. Whoever's egg cracks loses. What do they lose? I have no idea . . . their sense of egg tapping pride perhaps? I thought they made the whole stupid thing up . . . his family is pretty goofy (in a goodly way) and it would surprise me if this was some silly game they came up with.
Well, if Wikipedia is to believed . . . an if it's a Wiki page it just has to be true, right? . . . then apparently this is an Easter tradition that goes back a bazillion years or something like that . . . or 1979 years ago, at least.
Anyhoo . . . the egg fight is supposedly an Easter traditio wherein you are supposed to hold a hard-boiled egg and tap the eggs of other participants to break them but to keep your own undamaged. Yeah, good luck with that! Cheating is rampant but it's all in good fun.
This egg tapping thing can be found in many different cultures around the world but has it's roots in pagan beliefs. For obvious reasons, the egg was a Pagan symbol of the rebirth and early Christians co-opted this metaphor as the rebirth of man at Easter in light of Christ's ultimate sacrifice.
Speaking of Easter . . . do you know how our calendar Easter day is selected? It is always the first Sunday after the first Full Moon after the Spring Equinox (thanks to Dicky for the bit of pagan holiday info).
So . . . go bust up some eggs! Happy Easter or Solar/Lunar Pagan Holiday
Coconut Cream Cake
2 oz. Pinnacle Cake Vodka
2 oz. Milk
Splash Coconut Rum
Shake with ice and strain into a chilled martini glass.
Ricotta Pie is a traditional Easter dessert in many Italian households. That is when it was introduced to me.
It is important that the ricotta cheese is drained well so that you get a nice firm filling. Drain it overnight in the fridge or a couple of hours before you put it together.
