Thanksgiving Dinner 2013

I decided to make a butternut squash galette, to serve with the leg of lamb that I was making for thanksgiving dinner. As you can see, I had a little help from Woody...he just loves to get into whatever it is that I am cooking. Truth be told...he loves veggies

After I baked the squash I compiled the galette...
that required a good pastry dough (read that as Pillsbury dough boy store bought)
a mix of ricotta cheese and roasted garlic as a first layer, then the squash mixed with roasted shallots and spices...

After folding it up, top it off with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and sprinkle the edges with some chopped fresh rosemary...an then into the oven.

Now, on to the leg of lamb. This baby marinated overnight in olive oil, garlic, thyme and salt and pepper. I did not use lemon, because I did not want any chemical cooking going on.

As you can see, the dinner was spectacular! The string beans were only boiled, and so were nothing to write home about, but everything else was really good!

Thankful for good friends, good food and good health.  What more could anyone ask?

Fettuccine al Limone -- (fettuccine with lemon)

We interrupt this series of vacation photos because, I promised to submit the photos of a dish that I had while romping through Tuscany. So, my first confession is: it wasn't really my dish; it was actually Arlenes dish in Bargo...but I digress.
I heard that Marcella Hazan passed away while I was on my trip and I had to get a cookbook of hers since it seems she was a quite famous chef.  I don't know how she managed to NOT show up on my radar, but that is indeed the case. I am now finding out about her and her fabulous cooking postmortem and that really stinks. I found in one of her cookbooks a recipe that is very close to a dish we were served in Bargo, Italy. I only had a taste of it, but that was enough for me to try this recipe and pass on the ravioli dish that I originally bargained for. 
So without further ado:

Fettuccini with Lemon
4 tablespoons of butter
1 cup of heavy cream
the grated peel, but none of the white pith of 4 lemons
Fettuccine (I confess I used Buttoni linguini --I was just too lazy to make my own)
1/2 cup of freshly grated parigiano-reggiano

 Grate the lemon zest and get all the other ingredients ready. Put the water on to boil for the pasta. The sauce takes only a few moments!
Put the butter and the cream into a saute pan large enough to hold the sauce and the pasta when cooked.  Bring to a boil. Then stir in the lemon juice.

 Then add the zested lemon and stir till smooth and the mixture reduces just a little.

 Keep an eye on the pasta, should take only a few minutes, at most.  I did not drain the pasta, I just used tongs and grabbed it and transferred the dripping pasta to the sauce...
You may notice in the background that I added 4 spears of cooked asparagus (this was an idea from another meal I had in Italy)

 Toss the pasta in the sauce and add the 1/2 cup of grated cheese. Toss thoroughly. And then...

 Enjoy!

It was pretty darn good!

Lunch with Mom...sort of

So this is what happens when you walk away from your sandwich for just a minute or two at my house...

Well, one would think that I never feed the little guy, but I do and lots. He just prefers whatever I am eating. This happens to be a liverwurst sandwich...he cannot help himself!

Me Showing off my new apron, cooking attitude and curly hair!

I was in the Mood for Donuts

And I had just read this really good recipe in the local newspaper.  Actually, I cut out the recipe and placed it ever so lovingly in my King Arthur Cookbook.  I always like to compare a couple of recipes before I actually make something for the first time.  I need to know that the basic ingredients are a common thread in several recipes and then I move on with confidence. Well wouldn't you know-- it was happy as a clam right there in my cookbook and the very day I decided I was going to make donuts...right after my nap...

Well, what you see is my cockatiel deciding that the newspaper sticking out of my cookbook needed to be shredded!  So he got through the top margin and the recipe title and almost obliterated the first item on the ingredient list! I made do with what was left.

I think it turned out pretty good!  Not quite as cakey as I would like, but quite edible.

Little did I know the recipe would yield 48 donuts.  Gees!  It's only me here!  So what could I do but try freezing them.  I stuck one in a snack baggie and froze it.  The next day I put it in the microwave for 20 seconds and then in the toaster oven and toasted for about 1.5 minutes.  OMG!  as good as the day I made them!

So it looks like I will have me some really good donuts for quite a while!  Yippee!

Truffles for Christmas

This year I decided to try something new for Christmas. Instead of cookies, which I have been doing for the last several years, I have ventured out and made (for the very first time) truffles. These are little mounds of the most decadent chocolate one can possibly imagine dusted in some powdery/flaky stuff that makes them just too much to resist. I have always purchased them from some exclusive candy shoppe and paid plenty for them. I have NEVER found them in a store where I thought the price was anything close to affordable. So they have always been a rare treat...until now.

I have discovered that they are incredibly easy to make and not so expensive at all. So below is a photo series of my latest batch of truffles...Grand Marnier rolled in toasted coconut.

(I made these for a friend who recently underwent some nasty surgery..all is well, and she is dabbing the chocolate from her cheeks and looking for the last shreds of coconut as I write this)

The Recipe:

Makes about 17 pieces
6 ounces of good chocolate.

( I used Ghirardelli 60% Cacao, but 70% works too, even semisweet bits that you use for chocolate chip cookies work! )

2 Tablespoons of sweet (unsalted butter)

3 Tablespoons heavy cream (add 1 Tablespoon...if you are NOT using a liquor flavoring.)

1 Tablespoon Grand Marnier

Something soft and flaky to roll the truffles in...toasted coconut, powdered dutch cocoa, ground walnuts...go ahead, use your imagination!

Here you can see I have set my scale to zero with an empty measuring cup and added the chocolate to correctly measure 6 ounces. There are 3 tablespoons of heavy cream in that tiny measuring vessel, the butter is ready to go as well as the liquor.

I thought I was pretty creative making this double boiler...I used my smallest old metal mixing bowl because it has a little metal ring, which I have twist tied to the handle of my pot--so when I stir the chocolate the liner pot will not turn. In the pot under the mixing bowl is about a cup of water which has been brought to a slow boil...no real high heat needed here. It scares the chocolate!

See the chocolate wants to melt...not too quickly


ah almost there, a few lumps..soon you we see that magnificent deep shiny brown sheen...




All melted and now stir in, gently the butter

Then the cream...here is where we want to see that sheen I mentioned earlier...stir gently


See? it's coming, it started in the middle...just a little thicker and oh so shiny

ah...perfection. How long does all this take you may be asking...about 3 minutes...or less. When you get that nice sheen, you can add the tablespoon of liquor. Don't try to add too much of any liquid or you will end up with sauce instead of a semi-firm chocolate.

I put the melted concoction in a clean soup bowl and covered it with a plastic wrap. Then it goes in the fridge for about 2 to 4 hour to set up. It should be pretty solid and give gently to a finger prod. Then take it out and let it sit for twenty minutes or so. It makes it much easier to work with. Using a teaspoon, curl up a few small pieces into a lump about the size of...well a truffle! Roll it lightly in your palms to form it and then roll gently in flaky coconut (or whatever you have chosen)

Place the finished product on a parchment or waxed paper tray, when all done, cover them and put them in the fridge so they can firm up again. Munch to your heart's delight or give them away!

I made Coconut ones because that is what my friend indicated was her favorite. But I made one ginger one for me...so I could test the batch before I gave it away.

A New Discovery

Today was a whirlwind of activity, running here and there, trying to fit in all the meetings prior to a doctors appointment at one. The meetings all went well and on time, I actually had a few extra minutes to spend with a friend who also had a few extra minutes. Then it was on to the appointments and finally finished at 2:15.

No small wonder I was hungry...breakfast was lots of hours ago. But what to eat? I wanted to get in a quick bike ride since the 60ish weather will soon be a thing of the past...but I'm hungry.

Scanning the fridge I saw a loaf of home-made bread, I remembered a fresh jar of extra crunchy peanut butter in the pantry and was willing to settle for that on toast..but wait. There is an old jar of some kind of jelly, I'll use that up.

I sliced the bread, stuck it in the toaster and retrieved the jelly; a cherry-ameretto jelly from Colorado. Must have been in there for ages! Ugh...it is almost crystallized, so I popped it in the microwave for 10 seconds.
The toast was ready so I slathered it with crunchy peanut butter and was about to spread the jelly but then I noticed that it was now a liquid. So I poured it over the peanut buttered toast. OMG!!!

It was wonderful! Try heating your jelly and pouring it on your sandwich! You will not be disappointed. If done correctly, you may need a knife and fork.

I'm Smitten

For those of you who have been following for a while, your probably know I am a bit of a foodie. When I saw the movie last year: Julie and Julia, it was becoming more and more clear that I was probably more attached to food than is normal. (It is very hard for me to justify these feelings when I do ANY Buddhist reading) that said...

I just finished reading My Life in France by Alex Prod'homme (a distant cousin to Julia) and am totally awash in recipes and cooking ideas. I received the first volume of Julia's Mastering the Art of French Cooking for Christmas; I was respectfully scared and intimidated. The best I could do at that time was scan through the book and imagine that one day I might attempt something in it. Now that I have finished My life in, I feel I can page through Mastering a bit more slowly.

Well this may come as a shock but I spent a good hour looking at the recipes in the chapter titled: Eggs

Yes it IS possible to spend an hour thinking about cooking eggs. While I consider my current egg-cookery to be pretty good, the techniques she offers should just push those talents over the top. I am looking forward to trying and reporting on my efforts at (of all things) scrambled eggs. The French do it a bit differently and I can just imagine that the taste will be very much be
better than the already good ones that I currently make. Stay tuned and one day soon I will let you know how I made out.

If the scrambled eggs come out OK, then I will move on to the very intimidating: Omelet!

Oh, I suppose I should tell you that I was scanning the availability of things at Netflix and OF COURSE, the early 60's PBS show of Julia cooking IS there! I can hardly wait!

Cheese Filled Ravioli

It is amazing what a few ingredients can do. Here I used only flour, eggs and salt for the pasta. I used ricotta, parmasean, eggs, parsley, salt and pepper for the filling. That's it. It was superb! I still have the other half of the pasta. tomorow I willmake up a meat filling and see how that goes. Man this stuff is good!

Italian Braided Bread

This one was pretty simple. On day one make a Biga by putting 1 cup of water, 2 cups of flour (8.5oz) and 1/4 teaspoon yeast in a bowl, mix it up and cover. Leave it alone for 12 to 14 hours.

Then add 1/2 cup water, and mix until smooth; then add 2 to 2 1/2 cups flour (8.5 to 10.5 oz) 2 teaspoons of yeast and 1.5 teaspoons of salt; mix it altogether until it forms a mass.

Knead on a floured board for about 5 minutes. Place it in an oiled bowl and cover. Leave at room temperature for about 1.5 hours. Every half hour, turn it gently and tuck under in a kind of gentle knead.

Divide the dough into three equal pieces and roll into 18 inch ropes. Braid the ropes and set the braid on a parchment lined baking sheet. Cover it and let it rise for about 1.5 hours. Brush it lightly with egg white wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Place in a preheated 425 degree oven and bake for 25 to 35 minutes.

When golden brown, remove, let cool on a rack and enjoy.

The crust of this bread was very good and the texture sturdy. it is great with butter or toasted or dipping into gravy. Good all purpose bread.

Here are the shots I took while putting it together:

Zeppole

Zeppole is the name Italians use for a pinched piece of deep-fried dough showered in confectioner's sugar. I became addicted to these yummy delights back in the New York area during the many Italian street fairs that were held during the year. I don't know why I can enjoy a food like this so much and yet years will pass before I get the idea that...maybe...just maybe...I could make it myself!

Way too many years have passed since my last Italian street fair, but today is the day the I tried making them for myself. First I discovered that there are probably as many recipes for this dish as there are Italians. That did not dissuade me. I read and read and zeroed in on one that 'sounded' right and went at it with wild abandon.

Here are the results:










Here is the recipe:

(I have cut the original in half..this will probably serve 4 people easily)

1/2 a stick of sweet butter
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup of water
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs

oil for frying
in a medium sauce pan combine the butter, salt, sugar and water over a medium heat. Bring to a boil. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the flour. Return the pan to the heat and stir continuously until mixture forms a ball, about 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer the flour mixture to a medium bowl. Using an electric hand mixer on LOW speed add the eggs, 1 at a time incorporating each egg completely before adding the next. Beat until smooth. The dough will change dramatically when you add the second egg. At this point, if you are not frying it, you may cover tightly and refrigerate it.
If you are frying it...then pour enough oil into a large frying pan to reach a depth of 2 inches. Heat the oil over a medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 375 degrees F. I used a teaspoon about 1/2 filled with dough and pushed it into the oil with another spoon; you may use a small ice cream scoop but the amount of dough should not exceed the end of your thumbnail. They will float almost immediately, they are done when they are golden brown. Drain on paper towels and attack them with confectioner's sugar. Indulge!

The finished product was incredibly light and crunchy. They could also be filled with a pastry cream and drizzled with chocolate or raspberry sauce...but THAT is for another time.

Oh, if you are a coffee drinker...NOW is the time!