Easter Panettone Recipe (Moldovan Style)

Easter is a huge holiday in Moldova, which, if you're new here, is where I am from and where I lived until 4 years ago when my (american) husband and I moved to the US. Anyway, back to Easter in Moldova...I could say that it is a holiday bigger than Christmas. I remember dearly all the wonderful times spent with family on Easter. No bunnies, no Easter Egg Hunts, but certainly plenty of other traditions, many of which are food related.

Today I am sharing a must have for a Moldovan Easter and a new favorite of 

my American side of the family. 

It is a mix between the American pound cake and the Italian Panettone, and we call it 'Cozonac'. It is super yummy, but super difficult to make. I know it took my mom days to prepare for this. I've never actually attempted to make one myself using my grandma's recipe, but here's one I adapted from the Italian Panetonne recipe over at the Food Network. 

I didn't have the right form for this, so I just used regular loaf pans.

Difficulty: medium

Prep time: 30 min

Inactive time: 2 hours

Cooking time: 35 min

Yield: 2 loaves

ingredients

Dried Fruits

1/2 cup diced candied orange peel

3/4 cup dried cherries

3/4 cup golden raisins

3/4 cup diced dried apricots

Dough ingredients

1/2 cup sugar

1 tbsp active dry yeast

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 tsp salt 

Mixing and finishing ingredients

1 cup of whole milk

1 stick of butter

¼ cup honey

2 tbs grated lemon zest

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

step by step

1. Place the dried fruits and dough ingredients into a bowl.

2. Heat 1 cup whole milk, 1 stick butter, 1/4 cup honey and 2 tablespoons grated lemon zest in a saucepan, until all the ingredients are homogenized and are about 120 degrees. Pour and stir into the dry mix in the bowl.

3. Lightly beat 2 eggs and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, add to the dough and mix.

4. Cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

5. Butter two 5-by-9-inch loaf pans and line with parchment paper.

6. Separate the dough into two equal parts and place them in your pans; cover and let rise 1 hour.

8. Whisk 1 egg with a little bit of milk, and brush your loves conservatively (as in don't dump the whole egg mixture on top; we don't want burnt omelet on top). 

7. Bake at 350 degrees until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 55 minutes.

Cool before slicing.

If you attempt this recipe and it doesn't turn out well, please don't hate me. I am not a baker, and I hate following exact measurements. I didn't use exact measurements for any of the dried fruit, sugar or honey. I also, added extra flour when the dough was too thin, or water when it was too thick. I just worked it until it wasn't sticking to my fingers.

What Easter Traditions does your family have that you love?

Hugs,

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How to make Stuffed Peppers {Recipe and Tutorial}

Ladies and gentlemen...I give you my favorite meal ever - stuffed peppers!!! Growing up, as soon as we spotted some bell peppers in the garden, this is the meal we'd make. 

They are packed with veggies, rice, and meat.

Recipe passed down from my great-grandma to my grandmother to my mother, to me....and now to you.

Vegetable, rice and meat stuffed peppers

Difficulty: medium

Cooking time: 120 min

Prep time: 30 min

ingredients

Onions	2 pieces	you can also use leeks, or both
Carrots	2 pieces
Oil	3 tbsp	I use Sunflower Seed oil in all my cooking
Rice	1 1/2 cups	Not Minute Rice
Ground meat	1 lbs	I use mixed ground pork and ground beef
Bell Peppers	1 lbs	I used gypsy peppers, which are the closest to the ones I've had growing up
Fresh Tomatoes	2 pounds	To be used for the stuffing and the sauce the peppers will cook in. You can also use chopped canned tomatoes and tomato sauce.
Fresh dill	1 bunch
Dried Savory	0.5 tsp	I didn't use it, but my mother always did
Salt	1 tsp
Black Pepper	0.5 tsp

step by step

1
Peel, wash and chop the onions. Peel, wash and grate the carrots. Wash and remove the core and seeds of one of the peppers. Finely dice the pepper.
2 Wash the tomatoes. Cut them in half, and then remove the core. I usually cut the core in the shape of a 'V' so I don't waste too much of the tomato.
3 Put the tomatoes in the food processor in batches, to make a chunky juice.
4 Saute the onions, carrots and peppers until tender. Add some of the fresh tomato sauce and let it simmer for 5 minutes on medium to low heat.
5 In a different pan, brown the meat. Add the spices now. Keep breaking it up as to not create big chunks. Drain the fat at the end.
6 Put the cooked meat in a large bowl. Set aside. The biggest I had was this aluminum looking one and so you can see an upside down distorted reflection of me taking the picture :)
7 Add your tomato, onion, carrot, and pepper mixture on top. Add the uncooked rice and the chopped dill. Mix well. Make sure it's salted enough, as the rice will soak up a lot of the flavors. Since the meat is already cooked, I just try a little bit of this mixture, just to taste for salt, and then spit it out, since the rice is uncooked. Add more spices if needed.
8 Now let's prepare the peppers. Wash them, and then carefully remove the core, and seeds with a small knife. The smaller the hole, the better.
9 Now to the fun part - stuffing the peppers. Use a tea spoon and add the rice mixture. Make sure you  pack it in well, because when you boil the peppers, some of the stuffing will come out. Place them neatly in a large tall pot. Make sure they are standing up straight. Don't they look cute, all lined up like little soldiers? Make sure they are snug in there. If your pot is tall enough, you can lay some more on top, like so:
10 Pour your tomato juice on top. If it doesn't cover the peppers, add some water. Bring to a boil. Cover with a lid and let them simmer for an hour on low heat.
11 After they've cut, let them cool off for a bit. Serve warm with sour cream. Bon appetit! But wait....there's more! I always have extra stuffing, so I just put it in a ziploc back and freeze it. It's perfect for a risotto. Just defrost and simmer in a pot. Add more cooked veggies or just as is. Hugs,

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