8 dic 2012

HO VINTO UN CONTEST DI FOTOGRAFIA

Una mia foto vincitrice de AMERICAN CHESTNUT FOUNDATION PHOTO CONTEST



"The winning photo of this month's contest is G. Bonardi of Marradi, Italy who took this photo of local Italian chestnuts. Congratulations and happy roasting!"


6 dic 2012

GLUTEN FREE CHESTNUTS BROWNIES


I found this gluten-free recipe on figjamandlimecordial.com

Chestnut Fudge Brownies

- 90g (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter
- 225g (8oz) 50 - 60% cacao semisweet chocolate (I used
Callebaut 54%)
- 150g (¾ cup) sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large (59g) eggs, at room temperature
- 40g (¼ cup) chestnut flour (sifted)
- 135g (1 cup) toasted and chopped nuts, OR 150g (1 cup) chocolate bits (Note: for the
all chocolate version, I used 100g Callebaut 44% bake stable sticks, broken up AND
50g Callebaut 70% callets)



1. Preheat oven to 175C/350F or 160C/320F with fan.
2. Measure out all your ingredients and have them ready to go.
Line a 20cm (8") baking pan with parchment paper.
3. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter, then add the chocolate and stir over low heat until melted and smooth.
Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar and vanilla until combined.
4. Stir in the eggs one at a time.
Add the sifted chestnut flour all at once and stir vigorously until you can feel the batter "snap".
The batter starts out grainy and fairly loose.
As you beat it by hand, it will initially feel like nothing is happening, and then it will suddenly feel a bit stiffer - that's when you'll know a state change has occurred.
This might take one minute, or it might take several.
Stop occasionally to check how it's going.
Unlike true fudge, it's not a huge "snap", but the texture will definitely change noticeably - it will feel stiffer, look smoother, and pull away from the sides and bottom of the pan.
5. Gently stir in the inclusions.
6. Scrape the batter into the lined tin and smooth out the top.
Bake for 25 minutes until just firm.
Do not overbake.
Allow the brownies to cool completely before lifting them out of the pan and slicing.