Spring Italian Dinner - Pink Moon

Mocktail: Clementine Rosemary cardamom Sparkler

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ▢1 cup water
• ▢3 sprigs rosemary
• ▢(1 tablespoon dried juniper berries - did not have them replaced with)
• 2 cardamom pods
• 1 tsp lemon zest & orange zest 
• simmer for 20 minutes. cool and bottle 
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For One Clementine Rosemary Sparkler:

• ▢3-4/ 3 ounces fresh squeezed clementine juice  
• ▢1/2 ounces Rosemary Cardamom Syrup 
• ▢orange flavored sparkling water 
• ▢a few dashes orange bitters
• ▢extra rosemary sprigs and slices of clementine for garnish

Grilled Shrimp with  hot honey drizzle 

appetizer:4 shrimp per person

20 shrimp large, spilt down the center 
1 pound 8/12 shrimp, deveined and shell on
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided in half
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped, divided in half
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra to taste

1 shallot, finely chopped
1/4 cup capers plus 1 teaspoon of their brine
1 red finger chile pepper, thinly sliced, using serrano pepper
1 teaspoon fresh oregano
1/4 cup white wine
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 teaspoon fresh parsley, finely chop

Honey Drizzle 

honey

red chili flakes

lemon zest and juice 

MAKE 

In a bowl, combine the shrimp, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 cloves garlic, paprika, salt. Toss well to coat, cover and refrigerate 1 to 4 hours.

To a cold frying pan, add 2 tablespoons olive oil, shallot and 2 finely chopped garlic cloves. 

Place the pan over medium heat and cook, stirring, until the shallot is translucent and the garlic is fragrant, around 2 minutes. 

Add the capers, sliced chiles and oregano and cook, stirring, 1 minute. 

Add the wine and lemon juice and cook, stirring, until the liquid has reduced by 1/4 in volume, around 2 minutes. 

Taste the sauce for seasoning and adjust with salt, and lemon juice as desired.

Spoon the sauce over top of the shrimp  and garnish with parsley. Serve immediately.

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 Sformato di spinaci 

LARGE BATCH

500g of spinach
250 g of Ricotta 
2 eggs
2 g nutmeg
50 g of  Butter
80 g of grated pecorino cheese
salt and to taste

SMALL BATCH 

333g of spinach
167g of ricotta
1⅓ eggs → (You can beat 2 eggs and use about 2/3 of that mixture
1⅓ g of nutmeg
33g of butter
53g of grated pecorino cheese
Salt and pepper to taste (same as original — season as needed)

MAKE 

Wash the spinach and boil it in a pan with a little water and salt for about 5 minutes.

Drain it, squeeze it and salt it.

Place into a blender and puree smooth. 

Leeks- cut them into slices and sauté them in a pan with half of the butter, a drop of water and a pinch of salt.

Next, blend them with the mixer. 

In a bowl, combine spinach puree and leek puree, eggs, Ricotta and the grated pecorino , then mix everything well to combine.

Grease the molds with the rest of the butter, transfer the mixture into it. 

Bake the spinach flan in a preheated oven at 350° for about 30 minutes. 

Serve your spinach flan warm.

if wanting to try the Bain Marie method:  Level the surface with the back of a spoon and place the molds in a baking pan with high edges, pour about a generous finger of water inside and transfer to a static oven preheated to 350ºF for an hour.

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Grilled flank steak with rosemary garlic butter 

flank steak 

garlic 

rosemary 

butter