Divine in taste. Creamy rice with a pleasant lemony after taste that fills your senses.  Excellent winter food.

Serves 4. Preparation 20 minutes. Cooking time 20 minutes.
Ingredients

5 Artichokes
4 cups of water
2 lemons
May be prepared and refrigerated up to 24 hours ahead of time.

Risotto
6 cups of water combined with 3 vegetable buollion cubes or may use vegetable brodo.
1 medium onion (peeled) diced into small pieces
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tsp butter
1/2 cup prosecco or white wine
300 grams of Rice
2 tsp Salt
1/2 c. Parmesan Cheese

Fill pan with 4 cups of water. Cut 2 lemons in half and squeeze juice of lemons into water, place lemons also into water. (Place each completed artichoke immediately into water to prevent browning!) Peel artichokes one leaf at a time removing green hard leaves until yellow/pinkish/light green leaves are reached. They will be tender in touch as opposed to the harder green leaves. Cut off 1/2 inch from tip of artichoke, cut and discard stem too. Cut artichoke in half, with a knife gently place into center of artichoke, remove small hairs and center leaves. Immediately, place artichokes into water to prevent browning. Place pan of artichokes onto high heat and allow to boil for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and pour contents into a colander and allow to drain for a minute. Discard lemons. Slice artichokes lengthwise into thirds, set aside.

On high heat, in a large pan combine water and bullion cubes to make Broth for risotto, bring to a boil and turn off heat.  Set aside.

In a large frying pan on medium heat, add oil, butter and onion, allow to saute` for 5 minutes. Add Prosecco or White Wine stir into onion. Add Rice. With a wooden spoon stir well in order to integrate all ingredients. Add salt and 4 ladles of Broth and stir into rice. Add Broth as rice absorbs broth, always stirring! After 5 minutes of stirring rice, add in artichokes. Contine to add in broth for a total of 15 minutes.  Taste risotto to check for doneness of rice.  Rice should be slightly resistent but not soft. Remove from heat, add parmesan and stir to combine. Stir in 2 more ladles of broth. Place Risotto into dishes and serve immediately.

Copuletta is a delicious tea cookie that comes from the island of Sardegna in Italy.

Ingredients:
Cookie Dough
500 g of Flour
100 g di lard or butter
pinch of salt and Warm Water

Filling:
500 g crushed almonds
200 g sugar
2 egg whites
lemon zest of a whole lemon
1 tsp butter

Top off with powder sugar

Begin by soaking the almonds for a few minutes in boiling water and then remove the skin from the almonds. Toast them in the oven and then grind them coarsely in a mortar. Set aside

Next on a pastry board, or in the center of the table, pour flour and arrange into a mound; Melt a pinch of salt in warm water and pour it in the center of the flour, then gradually started to knead, adding in the lard or butter. When the dough is firm, let stand for 1 / 2 hour in a warm place.

Meanwhile, pour the egg whites in a bowl and beat on high mounting the eggs whites for about 30 seconds, then slowly add sugar. Lastly, FOLD in the chopped almonds and the grated rind of lemon.

Remove the resting dough and with a rolling pin extend dough into 2 sheets of equal size. With an upside down cup, make cut out circles of equal sizes. With a teaspoon, spoon the mixture of egg whites and almonds into the cut out circle, spacing the mounds, with the second sheet covers it all.

Pressing the edges with your fingers, so that every cake is thoroughly enclosed in pastry. Then lay down your copulettas, one by one, in a baking pan greased with butter and bake.

Finally, let cook over moderate heat for about 1 / 2 hour and serve the cakes dusted with powdered sugar and accompanied by a bottle of sweet and fresh I was born, to be served at a temperature of 10-12 ° C.

Zucotto is a traditional Florentine cake whose shape is inspired by the rounded roof of the local duomo. It consists of a sponge filled cake with layers of chocolate, mascarpone and fruit.

1 sponge cake pre made from a store or may use the recipe from Pan di Spagna
1/2 cup Marsala (sweet or semi secco)
4 ounces semisweet chocolate chopped and then melted
500 grams Mascarpone cheese
2 Tablespoons Confectioners sugar
1/2 cup black berries
confectioners sugar and cocoa powder to dust.

Line a round 6-cup pudding bowl with plastic wrap, letting the plastic wrap to hang over the edge of the bowl.

cut outer circle of sponge cake and then the inner circle into triangles.

Insert knife into the side and center part of the cake. Rotate cake so that the cake is cut into half. Take top half of cake and set aside then cut  cake into eight triangle part’s.  Arrange triangles (about 7) into the bowl so that they fit snuggly together.  For the bottom half of the cake; Cut 1 inch around the edge so that the a smaller round center remains intact. Set both aside.

Drizzle 1/4 cup Marsala over 7/8 cake previously placed into bowl.

Melt chocolate. Combine with 1/2 of Mascarpone.  Spoon into the cake lined bowl and evenly distribute the mixture, leaving hollow the center part of the cake.

Mix remaining part of Mascarpone with 2 tbsp confectioners sugar and  1/3 cup Marsala.

Combine marsala with mascarpone mixture.

Add berries of choice and combine. Spoon mixture into the center of the cake and evenly distribute.

Place cake ring ( 1 inch trimmed edge) onto outer top of cake and filling. Place cut out bottom circle into center of cake gently fitting it into center. Cover bowel with plastic and place into refrigerator for two hours.

Remove cake. First remove plastic from top of  bowl. Place a plate upside down onto top of  bowl and flip onto plate so that the Dome is right side up. Gently remove plastic.  Dust cake with cocoa powder and confectioners sugar onto dome. Place half cherries around outside of cake to create effect of windows.

Wonderful side dish

3 Peppers washed and sliced
1 Onion sliced
1/4 cup Olive Oil
16 ounce can Tomato Sauce
1/2 tsp salt
5 Sausage Links pre-cooked and drained (Optional).
10 leaves Basil

Over medium heat place sausage links prick all with fork tines and allow to fry in pan for about 10 minutes. Over medium heat add to frying pan Yellow Peppers, Onion, Olive Oil. allowing to cook over heat for 10 minutes turning vegetables often. Once vegetables are wilted add tomato sauce. Add salt. Drain sausage and slice into round circles. Add sausage to simmering vegetables and cook in pan allowing flavors to come together for about 10 minutes. Add basil leaves torn into halves to the dish. Immediately serve over pasta and top off with parmesan cheese.