Celebration recipes: Try Cleveland woman's stirato and variations on classic desserts

NORTH ROYALTON, OH (Catholic Universe Bulletin) - Janet Mercuri's home is filled with many, many pieces of her cross stitch work. Framed projects and small vignettes of her numerous collections fill the home, offering a feast for the eyes and a serene place for family to gather.

Her husband Tony, an accomplished woodworker, also brings his talents to the house, renovating rooms with the skill of a professional and making frames for his wife's completed cross stitch pieces. Together they have created a much-loved home.

Mercuri's conversation shows her devotion to family and hearth. The couple has three adult sons, two of whom are married. Both live in Strongsville. Their youngest son is not yet married and lives in Pittsburgh.

Mercuri's two married sons each has two sons of their own. Having lost her mother while she was still in her teens, and not having a daughter, Mercuri said she appreciates the female companionship of her daughters-in-law. "I have two daughters-in-law so far, and both are like daughters to me," she said.

More passion with age

The Mercuris met through a friend and were friends throughout their teens. When he returned from a stint in the Navy, the relationship blossomed. They have been married for 41 years.

After high school, Mercuri was a secretary for Sherwin Williams Co. and then for a Cleveland advertising agency. She opted to stay home once the kids arrived, fitting in some temporary assignments and part-time jobs as they came up. Her true calling is being a homemaker.

"I like to take care of my house and cook," she said. "The older I get, the more passionate I get about cooking."

Tony Mercuri considers himself spoiled. "We always have good meals," he said.

"My mother was a really good cook," Mercuri said. "But at the time I wasn't very interested. Then I got married and had to cook. Over the years it has become more of a focus for me."

She said her mother loved vegetables, and would use a wide variety of fresh produce, rarely using the same item two weeks in a row. She said it's been a challenge getting her husband to become as "adventurous" about food as she is. Ironically, it was actually Tony Mercuri's father who first introduced her to making her own ravioli.

"He used to lay a clean sheet on the bed and lay the dough out there to dry," she said. Following in his footsteps, she makes the stuffed pasta pies once in a while, but she uses a recipe from famed Italian chef Lidia Bastianich, whose cookbooks Mercuri devours, and takes advantage of modern conveniences such as her food processor and stand mixer.

"I really enjoy baking bread the most," she said. "My newest bread recipe is for "stretchy bread." It's called stirato. I'm really excited about it."

Mercuri enjoys the world of food so much she recently collated her favorite recipes into a cookbook which she gave to her children and sisters for Christmas.

The Mercuris have had the opportunity to travel to Europe several times in recent years. They enjoy walking through the cities and "eating at the places where they don't speak English," she said.

At home they walk, too, often walking to services at their parish, St. Albert the Great.

OLD-FASHIONED SPICE CAKE

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups sifted cake flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

ľ teaspoon baking soda

ľ teaspoon cloves

ľ teaspoon cinnamon

Pinch of black pepper

ľ cups shortening

ľ cups firmly packed brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

3 eggs

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Sift flour, baking powder, salt, soda, spices and pepper together. Cream shortening thoroughly. Gradually add sugars and cream together until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Add flour alternately with buttermilk. Beat after each addition until smooth. Add vanilla.

Pour batter into three 8-inch layer pans or two 9-inch layer cake pans which have been greased and lined with wax paper. Bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes for 8-inch layers or 30-35 minutes for 9-inch layers. Frost with Mom's Whipped Icing or frosting of your choice.

MOM'S WHIPPED ICING

Ingredients:

1˝ cups milk

2 tablespoons cornstarch

˝ cup shortening

˝ cup margarine

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Dash salt

Directions:

Cook milk and cornstarch together until thickened. Cool. Beat shortening, margarine and sugar until light (about 5 minutes.) Add thickened milk. Beat mixture until thick and not grainy. Add vanilla and salt. Beat well. Frosts a 9-inch layer cake. Half of recipe will frost a 9 x 13-inch cake. If you wish to make chocolate icing add 2-3 tablespoons cocoa powder.

CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI CAKE

Ingredients:

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

˝ cup sugar

˝ cup butter or margarine

˝ cup vegetable oil

3 eggs

1 teaspoon of vanilla

˝ cup buttermilk

˝ teaspoon allspice or one quarter teaspoon Ginger and one quarter teaspoon cloves

˝ teaspoon cinnamon

˝ teaspoon iodized salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 cup cocoa

1 3/4 cups shredded zucchini, drained (about 12 ounces)

˝ to 1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

Heat oven to 325°. Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking pan. In a large mixer bowl, cream together the sugars, butter and oil. Add eggs, vanilla and buttermilk; stir well to mix. Sift together all the dry ingredients and sift into mixer bowl. Beat well. Drain zucchini, if necessary and add to cake mixture. (Cake turns out well with 1˝ to 2 cups of grated zucchini, also.) Pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle top with chocolate chips and bake about 45 minutes. Makes 12 servings.

BANANA CAKE

Ingredients:

2 cups sifted cake flour

˝ teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

˝ teaspoons salt

1/4 cup sour milk

1 cup mashed bananas

˝ cup shortening

1˝ cups sugar

2 eggs, well beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add milk to mashed bananas. Add sugar gradually, creaming until light and fluffy. Add eggs and beat well. Add flour mixture alternately with milk and banana mixture, beating after each addition until smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour into two 8-inch layer cake pans that have been greased, lined with waxed paper, then greased again. Bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire racks and allow to cool completely. Frost with Mom's Whipped Frosting.

CINNAMON TOLLS

Ingredients:

6˝ to 7 cups flour

2 packages yeast

˝ cup sugar

1˝ teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

1 cup water

˝ cup butter or margarine

2 eggs

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

Directions:

In large mixer bowl, combine 3 cups flour, yeast, ˝ cup sugar and salt; mix well. In saucepan, heat milk, water and butter until warm (120-130°); butter does not need to melt. Add to flour mixture. Add eggs. Blend at low speed until moistened; Beat three minutes at medium speed. Gradually stir in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. Knead on floured surface or in mixer with dough hook until smooth and elastic, 5-8 minutes. Place in greased a bowl, turning to grease top. Cover; let rise in warm place until bubble, about one hour.

Prepare filling: combine 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, one tablespoon cinnamon; set aside.

Punch down dough and divide into two parts. On lightly floured surface, roll each half to a 15 x 12-inch rectangle. Spread each piece with one half of the melted butter; sprinkle half of the filling over dough. Starting with shorter side, roll up tightly. Pinch edge to seal. Cut into 12 slices. Place into greased muffin pans. (Can also be baked into 9 x 13-inch baking pan.) Cover; let rise in warm place until almost doubled, about 30 minutes. Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Turn out on racks to cool. When cool, frost with glaze made a confectioners' sugar mixed with a little milk.

STIRATO

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups water with three or four ice cubes

1 package active dry yeast

1/4 cup warm water

3 cups organic, unbleached white or all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

Directions:

Place the ice cubes in a transparent measuring cup and fill it with cold water to the 1˝ cup mark. Set the water aside for 10 minutes or so until the ice is close to being completely melted. Pour the one quarter cup of warm water into a cup and sprinkle in the yeast. After stirring to dissolve the yeast, allow the mixture to sit for 10 minutes until it is creamy.

Place the flour, salt and sugar into a food processor fitted with the plastic blade and pulse to mix. With the processor running, add the yeast mixture and about 3/4 cup of the ice chilled water. Process for about one minute to incorporate ingredients. With the processor running, slowly add the remaining water. Process the mixture for about 3-4 minutes until the dough is satiny and quite wet but still cool. From time to time, use a rubber spatula to scrape up any dry mixture, making sure that all the dry flour is incorporated. When the mixture comes out of the food processor it will be very wet and stretchy.

Empty the soupy dough into a large bowl. Cover the ball with plastic wrap or damp cloth, place it in a warm spot, and let the dough rise for between 2-3 hours.

When the dough has doubled in size, turn it out on a well floured worktable and lightly punch it down. Divide in half. Shape the pieces of dough into loaves by rolling them roughly into logs about 8 inches long; flatten each piece of dough out and then roll it up toward you. With each role, seal the joint with the heel of the hand. Cover the loaves and let them rise seam-side down on a well floured worktable for 30 minutes.

Carefully pick up each loaf and stretch it to fit into a greased 18-inch baguette tray. The loaves may also be baked on a parchment-lined and greased baking tray. Let them rise covered for 15-20 minutes.

Place the baguettes into a preheated, 450° oven and immediately turn the heat down to 400°. Bake them for 20 minutes or until they are golden brown. Leave the loaves in the oven with the heat turned off for another five minutes to set the crust.

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This story was made available to Catholic Online by permission of the Catholic Universe Bulletin (www.catholicuniversebulletin.org), official newspaper of the Diocese of Cleveland, Ohio.