Venetians Recipes

VENETIANS

Steps:

• Grease 3 - 13 x 9 inch pans. Line with wax paper. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
• Combine almond paste, sugar, butter, egg yolks and almond extract. Beat for 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Beat in flour and salt.
• In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. With a wooden spoon, fold into the almond mixture.
• Divide dough into 3 -1 1/2 cup portions. Add red coloring to one of the portions, and green to the another. Spread the batter in the 3 separate prepared pans (keeping the colors separate).
• Bake for 15 minutes, or until edges are golden brown. (Each layer will be 1/4 inch thick). Remove cakes from pan immediately. Cool thoroughly.
• Stack layers in a 9 x 13 inch pan, spreading apricot jam between layers (no jam on top layer). Place second 9 x 13 inch pan on top and weigh down with two 5 pound bags of sugar or flour. Refrigerate overnight.
• Melt chocolate over hot water and spread over cake. Allow to set. Trim edges and cup into 1 inch squares.

VENETIAN COFFEE

Steps:

• Pour amaretto and sambuca into a footed, glass coffee mug. Fill mug with coffee and top with whipped cream.
• *Semi-Homemaker's Tip: To make flavored coffee, add a teaspoon of flavored extract to your coffee grounds before brewing.

ALMOND VENETIAN DESSERT

Steps:

• Grease the bottoms of three 8-in. square baking dishes. Line with waxed paper and grease the paper; set aside., Place almond paste in a large bowl; break up with a fork. Add the butter, sugar, egg yolks and extract; beat until smooth and fluffy. Stir in flour and salt. In another bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Stir a fourth of the whites into the dough, then fold in the remaining whites (dough will be stiff). , Divide dough evenly into three portions, about 2/3 cup each. Tint one portion green and one portion pink; leave the remaining portion white. Spread each portion into a prepared pan. Bake at 350° for 13-15 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Immediately invert onto wire racks; remove waxed paper. Place another wire rack on top and turn over. Cool completely. , Place green layer on a large piece of plastic wrap. Spread evenly with 1/3 cup apricot preserves. Top with white layer and spread with remaining preserves. Top with pink layer. Bring plastic over layers. Slide onto a baking sheet and set a cutting board on top to compress layers. Refrigerate overnight., In a microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate. Remove cutting board and unwrap dessert. Spread melted chocolate over top; let stand until set. With a sharp knife, trim edges. Cut into 2-in. x 5/8-in. bars. Store in an airtight container.

VENETIANS

Steps:

• Pre heat oven to 350 degrees Grease 3 (9by13by2 inch) baking pans. Line with wax paper and grease the paper Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form, transfer them to another bowl. Add the almond paste to the electric mixer bowl, breaking it apart with a fork. Add the butter, sugar, egg yolks and almond extract and beat until light and fluffy. Beat in the flour and salt. Lightly stir in the beaten egg whites. Remove 1 1/2 cups of batter and spread it evenly into 1 of the prepared pans. Remove another 1 1/2 cups batter to a small b owl. Blend in the green food coloring and spread batter evenly into the second pan. Add the red food coloring to remaining batter and spread into third pan. Bake the cake 15 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Remove the cake from the pans, peel off the wax paper and cool on racks. Heat the preserves and strain. Place the green cake layer on a flat baking sheet and spread 1/2 of the warm preserves to the edges. Cover with the yellow layer and spread top with remaining preserves. Cover with red layer. Cover with plastic wrap weigh down with a large cutting board and refrigerate overnight. The next day melt the chocolate over hot not boiling water. Spread to edge of cake and let harden about 30 minutes. Trim edges of cake evenly and cut into 1 inch squares.

VENETIAN-STYLE PASTA

Steps:

• Start frying the onions in the oil in a non-stick frying pan - you'll need to cook them for about 10 mins until they're very soft. Meanwhile, boil the pasta.
• Stir the vinegar, sultanas, capers and most of the pine nuts into the soft onions with some seasoning, then cook for 1 min more to soften the sultanas. Stir in the spinach with a splash of pasta water. Drain the pasta, then toss with the onion mix - the spinach should wilt as you do. Divide between 2 bowls, scatter with the remaining pine nuts and serve.

VENETIAN COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease three 15 1/2" x 10 1/2" jelly-roll pans; line pans with waxed paper, allow waxed paper to extend over ends of pans. Grease and flour waxed paper.
• Beat egg whites with 1/2 cup sugar until stiff peaks form; set aside.
• In large bowl with same beaters (no need to wash them), with mixer at low speed, beat almond paste and remaining 1/2 cup sugar until it forms small lumps.
• Beat in margarine or butter until blended. Beat in egg yolks and almond extract. Reduce speed to low; beat in flour and salt just until combined.
• With rubber or silicone spatula, fold egg whites into almond mixture, one-third at a time, until combined.
• Remove one third of batter (about 1 1/2 rounded cups) to a small bowl. Remove half of remaining batter to another small bowl. You should have equal amounts of batter in all three bowls.
• Stir red food coloring into one bowl of batter (5 drops for pastel, 20 drops for dark color).
• Stir green food coloring into second bowl of batter.
• Leave the third bowl uncolored.
• Spread batter into the three pans (one color per pan). With offset metal spatula, spread batter as evenly as possible; each layer will be about 1/8" thick.
• Bake layers 10-13 minutes, rotating pany halfway through cooking time, until layers are just set. Watch closely, you want this to be slightly undercooked.
• Let layers cool 5 minutes in pans on wire racks. Invert layers onto racks; leave waxed paper attached; cool completely.
• When all 3 layers have cooled, place green layer on a platter, remove waxed paper; spread with half of the apricot preserves. Place white layer on top of the green layer, waxed paper side up; remove waxed paper. Spread with remaining apricot preserves. Place red layer on top of white layer; remove waxed paper. Press down gently over entire surface to make sure all layers are firmly attached to each other.
• With a serrated knife, trim edges about 1/4" from each side (cooks' treat). Spread melted chocolate on top of red layer (not on sides). Refrigerate at least 1 hour.
• Cut layers lengthwise into 6 strips. Cut each strip into 12 small rectangles.
• Store cookies in refrigerator in a covered container, with waxed paper between layers.