Stromboli

This is another recipe my mother has been making for years. For the longest time, it was the only way I ate spinach, & the only stromboli I had ever tasted. Now when I try stromboli at a restaurant or Italian deli, it just doesn't compare. The bread is quick to make and full of veggies with the perfect balance of cheese & meat.

First, make the dough.

Ingredients:

2 T yeast

1 T sugar/honey

1 3/4 c warm water

2 t salt

1 T oil

5 c flour (1/2 white, 1/2 whole wheat)

*optional 2 T flax

In a large bowl, combine 1 c water with honey & add yeast. Let sit 5-10 mins until the mixture is frothing.  Add oil & sift in dry ingredients, adding one cup of flour at a time. Stir until the dough cannot be mixed anymore & pour onto a floured surface. Knead ~10 mins, until the dough is springy. Coat in oil, place back in the bowl, & cover with a towel.

Let rise ~1 hr, punching down intermittently.

While the dough is rising make the filling.

Ingredients:
1 stalk celery
1/2 red pepper
8 oz frozen spinach (or fresh)
1 medium onion
1 carrot
2 cloves garlic
8-10 slices provolone cheese
*optional prosciutto

Finely chop all of the vegetables & mince the garlic. Heat a large saucepan on M & add a few T of oil. When the oil is hot, add one at-a-time carrots, onion, garlic, celery, pepper & saute until soft and the onions are translucent. Add the spinach. If using frozen spinach, cook until it's warmed up; if using fresh, cook until the leaves are dark green and soft. Remove from heat, cover & wait for the bread to finish rising.

When the dough is ready, preheat the oven to 425 F. Grease & sprinkle with cornmeal 1 baking sheet.

Separate the dough into two halves and roll the first half out on a floured surface until it is 1/4" thick. Try to keep it an even circle/oval shape. Spread the dough with half of the filling & place a few slices of cheese & prosciutto on top. Roll up & carefully place on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the other half of the dough & filling. Cut 5-6 slits along the top of the bread & bake 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

This time making it, I couldn't remember how much spinach to use & ended up using a whole pound! As a result, the stromboli were overflowing and very delicate. My rolls were also too long for the tray, so I tucked the ends under. The cheese dripped out a little into the oven, but the result was just as good as I remembered. I couldn't resist eating 3 slices immediately when it came out of the oven, and 2 later. Dinner tonight ended up being stromboli & salad :)

Mom's Chicken Soup & Crispelle

The other day while browsing the farmer's market, my mom and I decided to buy a chicken roaster. We roasted it in the oven and saved the carcass & scraps for chicken soup.

Usually chicken soup is made with raw chicken & it takes at least 3 hours to cook. Because we used cooked chicken, it only took 1 hr, and tasted just as good.

Ingredients for the soup:
cooked chicken scraps (seasoned how you like. we used rosemary, garlic, pepper, lemon)
1 onion
1 celery
1 carrot
1 bay leaf
water (you can use saved water from steaming/boiling veggies)

Place all the ingredients in a medium pot & fill with water until all everything is covered. Bring to a boil and simmer for 1 hr. Turn off, let cool, strain & refrigerate (preferably overnight). When you are ready to eat the soup, remove from the fridge & scoop the solid fat off the top. Heat & serve with crispelle.

Crispelle are very easy-to-make egg pasta. They cook just like crepes but are filled with parmesan & served in chicken soup. We also fill them with ricotta & bake them with tomato sauce for homemade manicotti.

Ingredients for the crispelle:
-this makes about 15
3 eggs
1 1/2 c flour (1/2 whole wheat, 1/2 white is tasty)
pinch salt
water
parmesan cheese

In a bowl sift the dry ingredients. Make a well in the center & add the eggs. Using a whisk & stirring gradually from the center of the well, mix the eggs into the flour. As the batter gets thick, add water and continue until all the flour is combined and the consistency is a little thicker than water. You want these to be very thin, like a thin crepe.


Heat a frying pan on M & spray with non-stick cooking spray. I like to heat two at once to speed up the process. When the pan is preheated, pour in a spoonful of batter and quickly tilt the pan around to spread the batter out and make it as thin and uniform as possible. This does take a bit of practice. If the batter is too thick, it will be hard to spread around the pan, so just add more water before making the next one.

When the edges begin to curl, flip the crispelle over for another minute more. Pour it out of the pan & onto a large plate. Grate parmesan cheese into the pasta and roll it up. Continue until all the batter is used up. Extra crispelle can be stored in the fridge or freezer for later.

Sprinkle with parmesan cheese when you serve & enjoy!

Sesame Semolina

Sesame semolina was one of my favorite breads to buy in the store. The combination of seeds & crunchy crust always kept me coming back for another slice. I decided to try making it at home a few years ago and now no store-bought bread can compare.

Ingredients:
2 c warm water
1 T yeast
1 T sugar
1/2 c semolina flour
2 c whole wheat flour + white flour (~3 c)
1 t salt
1/4 c sesame seeds
1 egg

First, start the yeast in 1/2 c water and sugar. When the yeast is foamy, add the rest of the water. Sift the semolina flour, salt, & 1 cup whole wheat flour into the bowl & mix until well-combined. Sift the rest of the flour in, 1 cup at a time, and stir after each addition. When the dough has gathered into a ball and it is difficult to mix more flour in, dump it out onto a floured board.

Knead for 8-10 minutes, until the dough stops taking up more flour, and it has a springy texture. Place back in your  mixing bowl, coat in oil, and cover with a towel. Let rise for 1 hr, until doubled. Punch down the dough a few times while it's rising.

After the first rise pour all but a few tablespoons of the sesame seeds into the bowl, and knead them in.
Dump the dough out & shape into a loaf. I like to make a nice braided loaf. Simply cut the dough into approximately 3 equal pieces, roll each into the same length strip, then braid. Make sure the ends are tucked under.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

2nd rise; before going in the oven.

Place the shaped dough onto a greased & floured baking sheet & let rise 20-40 minutes, until doubled. You can test when it's done by poking it slightly. If the dough holds the indent, then it's done rising. Be careful about over letting the dough rise too much as it will collapse when you brush with egg.

Finally, brush the dough with egg, sprinkle with the remaining sesame seeds, & bake for 40-45 minutes until golden brown and hollow when tapped on the bottom.

Today I made one very long braided loaf, though I usually make two smaller loaves.

Eggplant Parmesan

If you ever ask me what my favorite food is, I'll probably respond with eggplant parmesan. I have loved it ever since I was a child, and now that I cook by myself, I've made eggplant many different ways. Eggplant parmesan is still my favorite.

Ingredients:
1 eggplant
2 T oil
2 slices or 1/3 c shredded mozzarella or provolone cheese
1/2 c tomato sauce
1/8 c breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Peel & cut the ends off of the eggplant. Slide it into 1/4'' slices. Heat a frying pan or griddle on M/H with oil. Add the slices of eggplant & saute until soft & browned.

While the eggplant is cooking, spread a layer of tomato sauce on the bottom of your baking dish. The dish can be any size you like, depending on how many eggplants your using and how many layers you want. Begin layering eggplant on top of the tomato sauce. After 2 layers, spread a thin layer of sauce, then continue adding eggplant. On top, spread a thicker layer of sauce & sprinkle with cheese.  Sprinkle with breadcrumbs & cover with aluminum foil.

Bake 30 minutes. If you want the cheese to brown, remove the foil for the last 10 minutes.

Banana Bread

Somehow our kitchen's stock of bananas seemed to triple over the weekend. We went from having a small bunch of 3 bananas to a plateful of a dozen or more. All are past the green stage, and beginning to turn speckled brown. Time to start making food with banana!

This recipe for banana bread is one initially taken from an old version of Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook that my mother made a few changes to. If you look in the cookbook today, the original recipe has been completely revised.

Ingredients:
2 eggs (room temp)
1/3 c butter, melted
1/2 c sugar
1 3/4 c flour (1 c white, 3/4 whole wheat)
*optional 1 T flax
1 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 c mashed banana
*optional 1/2 c chocolate chips
*optional 1/2 c walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 F. Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl & set aside. In a smaller bowl, mix together the mashed banana, eggs, melted butter, & sugar until well blended. Make a well in the dry ingredients, pour the others into the well & mix until combined & light. Add chocolate chips & walnuts if using, and mix in a few quick strokes.

Pour into a greased loaf pan & bake 35-45 mins until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

In a good oven (i.e. not one in a college apartment), this usually takes the full 45 minutes to bake. When the oven not as dependable, I've had to lower the temperature to 325 as the outside cooked faster than the inside. This is also true if you are baking in a glass loaf pan.

Concord Grape Pie (Oh my!) and other more, traditional, flavors

I write this entry after a short break from my blog. It's not that I haven't been cooking, I just haven't been cooking what I consider "blog-worthy" food. My typical dinner consists of pasta & sauce with salad & veggies. Tonight we had baked grouper with mashed potatoes & brussel sprouts. And for dessert we had a very interesting concord grape pie.

When I was a child my favorite food was cherry pie & to this day it remains a guilty pleasure. Friends of mine know that I love to make pie. During college I made so many pies, I could probably have made one in my sleep if I tried. I'm always on the lookout for new and innovative pie fillings, so when I found this recipe in the Wall Street Journal 2 days ago, I just had to indulge myself.

I did make a few changes to the recipe before I gave it a try, and now that I've tasted the pie, there are some more things I'm going to change for next time.

First, make the filling.

Ingredients:
*5 c concord grapes (I found these at the farmer's market. You can only find them when they're in season.)
**1/4-1/2 c sugar
1/4 c flour
2 t lemon juice
pinch salt

*When I filled the pie crust it was a bit low, so I added some chopped apples to the top. I recommend using 6 cups of grapes.
**I don't like really sweet pies, and usually I add only 1/4 c sugar to my filling. This recipe called for 1 1/4 c & I reduced it to 1/2. I still thought it was too sweet (grapes are sugary), so I'm going to use 1/4 next time.

Wash the grapes & remove the skins, keeping them aside. Place grape pulp in a medium saucepan. Heat the pan on M & bring to a gentle boil, until the grapes become opaque & white. Pour through a food mill to remove the seeds & return to the saucepan. Now, the recipe said to add all of the skins to the pan, but after tasting the pie I found the texture of the skins to be very distracting. Add in 1/2 of the skins, the flour, lemon juice, sugar, & salt, and stir while heating on M. The mixture will thicken and begin to bubble. Remove from heat.

Preheat the oven to 450 F & make the crust. This recipe is enough for a double crust & some leftover for mini pies or small turnovers.

Ingredients:
1 stick of butter--cold
2 cups flour, pastry is best
3/4 t baking powder
pinch salt
water, as needed (~1 cup)

Sift together the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Using a pastry blender, knives, or your hands cut in the butter until it resembles large crumbs. Take a fork & stir while slowly adding water with your non-dominant  hand. Do not add too much water! Once the dough has gathered into a clump, dump it onto a floured surface & divide in half.

Take the larger half of the dough & set aside.

With the smaller half, take a rolling pin & place it in the center of the dough. Gently roll from the center to the edge & repeat. Do not roll back & forth as you don't want to overwork the dough. Make sure the dough is floured enough so it doesn't stick. When it is about the size of the pie dish, fold it in half, then in half again, place in the dish, then unfold. If it doesn't match up perfectly that's fine, just cut around the edges with a knife to remove excess, & use those to patch up any spots where the crust is short.

The larger half will become the top. Roll it out the same as the first layer, but a little larger. You can either make this a solid top & cut slits in it, cut shapes out of it and place those on top (we always did this when I was little and I loved it), or make a lattice top. A lattice top is easy & fun but too difficult to explain here, so you can watch this video if you don't know how to do it.

Pour the filling into the pie & dot with butter. Then place the top onto the pie or weave the lattice.

After the top is on the pie, pinch the edges closed using your thumb, index, & middle fingers going all around the pie. With the excess dough you can roll it out again & make mini pies or simple turnovers by filling with fruit you have available. Sometimes if I don't have fruit I fill them with chocolate ;)

The oven should be preheated when you're done making the pie. It bakes for 10 minutes at 450, then lower the oven to 350 and set a timer for 30-35 minutes. This grape pie took the full 35 minutes and was perfectly golden.

I still haven't made up my mind how I feel about concord grape pie. No doubt it was a delicious success. Yet, it was a lot of work preparing the fruit: individually peeling the grapes & removing the seeds, just to then add the peels back in and think later while I was munching that I shouldn't have added in so many skins. Another thing, the aroma from concord grapes is absolutely intoxicating. It was everywhere, in the fridge, on my hands from peeling, released the second I began cooking the pulp, and later when the pie was baking. At night, my mom came home from work and said it smelled like wine! I think I spent so many hours smelling what I though would be the pie, that by the time I tasted it, it was less-than spectacular.

Next time, I think I might just make jam :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you want to make a fruit pie that isn't concord grape here's a recipe for other fruit fillings that can be easily tweaked to compensate for what's in season.

Apple Pie
5 c apples for baking (I like granny smith because they're nice & tart)
1/4-1/2 c sugar
1/4 c flour
cinnamon, to taste
1/2 t nutmeg
1/4 t clove
1/2 t allspice
1 t vanilla

Peel, core, & slice apples into a large bowl. Add sugar, flour, spices & vanilla & stir until apples are evenly coated. I like a lot of cinnamon, but sometimes I add less or none & it brings out flavor of the other spices.

Cherry, Mixed Berry, Apple/Cherry:
5 c fruit
1/4-1/2 c sugar
1/4 c flour
vanilla (optional)

Pizza

Another family tradition, not only do we make classic Italian thin pizza, but we also cook it on the grill. It bakes fast, and the textures and flavors are unmatched by any oven baking.

This measurements for this recipe are roughly based on how many pizzas you want to make (1 pizza feeds about 1 person). Usually we make more so there are leftovers the next day. It reheats nicely in the toaster oven.

Ingredients:
~1/2 c water per pizza (though 1 1/2 c water is good for 4 pizzas)
1 T yeast for 1 1/2 c water
1-2 T olive oil
1/2 t salt per pizza
whole wheat & white flour

Measure the water, making sure it is warm to the touch & start the yeast in the water. Sometimes, if the yeast is difficult to start, it is best to measure out only 1/2 c warm water first with a sprinkle of sugar & start the yeast, then add the rest of the water later. Whatever you do, make sure the yeast is nice & foamy (5-10 mins waiting) before you being working.

Add the salt & olive oil to the bowl of yeast. Take a good wooden spoon, preferably slotted, and while stirring with your right hand, pour whole wheat flour into the bowl, one scoop at a time. Once the dough has started to combine, begin adding white flour while mixing. (You can mix the proportions of white/wheat if you want, but I've found a nice half/half mix is very good.) Dump the dough onto a floured surface and knead for about 8 minutes, until a springy texture is reached and the dough stops picking up too much flour. Replace back into the bowl and coat in vegetable oil.
Cover with a towel and let sit for min 1 hr to rise. Punch down every 15-30 mins to help the rising process.

When you are ready to make the pizza, prepare your ingredients. Usually I'll make a focaccia (olive oil, salt, & oregano), margherita (cheese, tomato sauce, oregano, fresh basil), peppers, onions, mushrooms, pesto, fresh tomatoes, think of other delicious combinations!

Preheat the grill (see below). Grab a handful of dough and place it on a floured surface. Roll it out with a rolling pin until its very thin. As thin as a couple pieces of paper. If the dough is elastic and keeps pulling in, keep working at it.

Heat the grill so that one side is L & the other side is H. You might have to play around with this depending on your grill, but the aim is to create an oven-effect: Place the pizza on the low side to cook the bottom and the heat from the high side will cook the top. Friends are always skeptical at first, but yes, just place the dough directly on the grill. I usually do a strategic drop, to get it to stay flat while not burning my fingers--it does take some practice so don't get frustrated if it's not perfect your first try. After the dough is on the grill, add the toppings, sauce first, then cheese & others. Err on the side of adding too little toppings rather than loading up the pizza. Everyone I know who tries grill pizza for the first time makes this mistake, and unfortunately if there are too many toppings, the top never cooks through while the bottom might burn. No good. I promise, with thin-crust pizza, less is better :)

After about 2-3 minutes, check the pizza and give it 180 degree turn. I use a pizza paddle, but this can easily be done with tongs or a grill spatula. After 2 minutes more the pizza should be done, when the cheese is bubbling and toasting & the crust is browned. Remove by sliding off using either tongs or a spatula, directly onto a cutting board. Cut & serve.

I try to roll out the next pizza right before I remove the cooking pizza from the grill, that way I can take one off and put the next one on the grill right away.

Simple Vanilla Ice Cream (and other flavors)

Note: This recipe requires an ice cream maker.

I figured since I went all out and posted the Pistachio Ice Cream recipe, I might as well go back to step 1 and post the standard Vanilla recipe. This is the easiest ice cream flavor to make, and can be easily changed to make whatever flavor you desire.

Ingredients:
1 c whole milk
3/4 c sugar
pinch salt
2 c heavy cream
1 T vanilla

Makes 5 c, 10 1/2 c servings.

In a bowl whisk together all the ingredients, beginning with the milk & sugar, then adding the salt, cream, & vanilla. Cover and let sit in the refrigerator 1-2 hrs min, or overnight. When ready, pour in the ice cream maker & enjoy!

Varieties:
Chocolate chip: Add 1/2 c chopped up or grated chocolate bar (this freezes better & has a better flavor than chocolate chips)
Chocolate: Reduce sugar to 1/2 c & vanilla to 1/2 T.  Add 3/4 c sifted cocoa powder & 1/3 c packed dark brown sugar.
Mint chocolate chip: Reduce vanilla to 1 t & add 1 1/2 t peppermint extract. Add 1/2 c chopped up chocolate bar
Fresh strawberry (or other fruit): Add 1 1/2 c fresh or frozen strawberries, pulsed until roughly chopped in a food processor. Reduce vanilla to 1 1/2 t, cream to 1 1/2 c, sugar to 2/3 c, & milk to 3/4 c.
Coffee: Reduce vanilla to 1 t. Add 1 shot espresso.

Pistachio Ice Cream

Note: This recipe requires an ice cream maker.

We purchased our first Krupps ice cream machine when I was in high school & for the first year or so it got a lot of use. My mom made ice cream all the time, in various flavors. After the novelty wore off, the ice cream maker was forgotten (like many specialized appliances), until I took a new interest in it and began making frozen yogurt with fresh fruit. The ice cream machine joined me at my apartment during college and I used it to make frozen yogurt for my friends.

After I returned home, my mom took up her old habit. Unfortunately, the machine was on it's last leg, and eventually the small motor grew too weak to turn the paddle. Shortly after trashing the ice cream maker, I surprised my mom with a new one for Christmas, this one made by Cuisinart. Clearly a lot of improvement has been made in ice cream machinery during the years we owned ours, because the Cuisinart one is vastly superior to the old Krupps (not saying anything about the respective companies).

Here is a recipe for Pistachio ice cream from the Cuisinart Recipe Booklet that came with our machine. When I made it I cut the recipe in half.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 c milk (whole is best)
1 whole vanilla bean, halved & seeds scraped (I just used 1 t vanilla)
2/3 c sugar, divided
2 1/4 c roasted, unsalted pistachios; shelled
2 c heavy cream
pinch salt
6 large egg yolks
1/4 t almond extract

Makes 5 cups, 10 1/2 c servings.

Shell the pistachios & measure out 1 1/2 c. Take the remaining nuts and finely chop. In a medium saucepan over M/L heat combine milk, vanilla bean if using, half the sugar, and 1 1/2 c pistachios. Bring the mixture to a boil & remove from heat. Let steep for 1-2 hrs.

After steeping, add the cream & salt & gradually heat to just a boil over M/L. While this is heating beat together the egg yolks & sugar until it's pale & thick. Once the milk mixture is at a slight boil ladle 1/3 of it into your egg mixture & whisk together. Then ladle 1/3 more into the eggs and whisk again. Return everything to the saucepan and heat gradually until it thickens slightly and coats the back of a wooden spoon, stirring constantly. This should only take a few minutes--don't boil or the yolks will overcook.

Stir in the almond & vanilla extract (if using) and pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer to remove the nuts & vanilla pod. Let cool to room temperature then refrigerate 1-2 hours min, or overnight.

When you are ready to make the ice cream, pour it into the maker & when almost thickened (~20 mins) pour in the chopped up pistachio nuts. The results are worth all the extra work & waiting overnight (as I did) for the flavors to set. The only changes I made were using vanilla extract (as noted), and we had salted pistachios, so I omitted the salt. There were no noticeable flavor oddities & I will most definitely be making this again.

Super Duper Chocolate Cake

My younger brother is a chocoholic. Naturally, for his birthday each year he gets some version of a deluxe chocolate cake. This year I made him a 2-layer chocolate cake with chocolate icing. I know his first response will probably be, "does it have chocolate chips?" but the richness of these flavors should suffice.

This cake recipe comes from the "Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook" and was recommended by my mom. First make the cake.

Ingredients:
3 eggs (room temperature)
1 1/2 sticks butter, 3/4 c (room temperature)
2 c sugar
2 t vanilla
2 c flour
3/4  t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
3/4 c cocoa powder
1 1/2 c milk

Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, & cocoa powder into a bowl. Cream the butter in another bowl. Then add the sugar and blend together. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating for about a minute after each addition. Then add the vanilla. Now alternate adding in the dry ingredients and milk, mixing slowly after each pour until combined. Once everything is added, mix quickly for 20 seconds to add some air.

Prepare 2 9''x9'' or 8''x8'' pans by lining the bottom with parchment paper/wax paper and coating with nonstick spray. Pour half the batter in each pan & bake 30-35 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven & let sit 5 minutes in the pan before flipping onto a wire rack.

While the cake is cooling, make the icing. The icing recipe comes from "The Fannie Farmer Cookbook". This is enough to frost 2 layers of an 8'' x 8'' or 9'' x 9'' cake.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 c sugar
4 T butter
2 squares unsweetened baking chocolate*
1/4 t salt
1/2 c milk
1 t vanilla
*1 square unsweetened baking chocolate = 1 T butter + 3 T cocoa powder

Combine all ingredients, except vanilla, in a heavy-bottomed pan and heat until the mixture starts to simmer. Stir constantly for 1 minute then let cool. After it is cooled, add the vanilla & whip either by hand or with a mixer until light & fluffy. Ice the cake & serve.

RESULT:
Very delicious, BUT the icing was definitely NOT what anyone would call traditional "frosting". It was more like chocolate sauce. It never solidified, and though I thought it gained a bit of volume after whipping a long time in the mixer, as soon as I turned off the mixer, everything collapsed into a runny chocolate mess. So my cake quickly became two layers oozing with chocolate goo. Though this was supposed to "frost" a 9'' x 9'' cake, there was definitely plenty left over. My brother celebrated the fact that even when refrigerated, this icing did not freeze, making it the perfect fudge sauce for ice cream. Phew, at least it's not a total loss!

The icing was so runny, it almost dripped off the plate!

Needless to say, the cake came out perfectly (I've never made this recipe before), it was incredibly moist, and super chocolatey. The very runny icing complemented the cake nicely, and the flavors just melted on the tongue.

Risotto alla Milanese

My family has been making this risotto dish since we lived in Milan. The recipe was given to us by our favorite restaurant shortly before we moved away. I have many fond memories of that restaurant & of course, eating their Risotto alla Milanese.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 c Arborio rice
1/2 c dry white wine (I used red today, it gives the rice a different color)
2 c stock plus boiled water
2 T olive oil
1/4 c finely chopped onion
1 pinch saffron threads OR 1 packet saffron powder
2 T parsley, chopped
salt & pepper, to taste
1/2 c grated parmesan cheese

In a medium pot heat the olive oil on M and saute the onion. When the onion is clear, add in the rice & wine & let the alcohol cook out for 20 seconds. Then add the stock, reduce heat to M/L, & set a timer for 25 minutes. Add in the parsley & saffron. Stir frequently & add boiled water whenever needed. The more you stir, the creamier the rice will be. When there is 5 minutes left on the time. add in salt, pepper, & the grated parmesan. Taste to make sure the rice is cooked through, it may take more or less time.

This was my first time adding parsley to the recipe & I also used red wine instead of white. It came out superbly and very creamy. When in doubt, keep stirring! I served it with some steamed asparagus & salad.

Yogurt Cake

This recipe comes from my friend Loïc. It is a recipe from his childhood & uses a single serving yogurt cup to measure all the other ingredients. Very fun!

To make a larger cake, use a larger cup of yogurt & visa versa.


Ingredients:
1 c yogurt
2-3 eggs (depends on size of cup)
1 1/2 c sugar
1/2 c melted butter
vanilla, as you prefer (~1 t)
2 c flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
*optional 1/3 c cocoa powder


Preheat oven to 350F and grease & flour a pan--bundt, cupcake, 9''x9'', loaf.


When Loïc made this, he just made a plain cake, but since then I've tried adding cocoa to it to make a chocolate cake. It's good and not too sweet since I don't add any extra sugar. If you want something sweeter you can add more sugar, or add icing.


Today I decided to make a marble cake, so I'm using half the cocoa powder.

In a larger bowl whisk together the eggs, yogurt, sugar, vanilla & melted butter. Measuring melted butter in a (usually plastic) yogurt cup isn't very desirable, so I've found that 4 T butter is about 1/2 c. (This does depend on the size of your cup).


In a second bowl sift the flour & baking powder together. Then add to the first mixture until combined. Split the batter in half & add 1/6 c cocoa powder (2 heaping T) to one half & mix. Alternate adding chocolate & vanilla to the prepared pan.

This cake can be baked in any size pan for 45 minutes or more, until a toothpick comes out clean. Today I made it in a loaf pan and it took 1 hr 10 minutes. I probably should have lowered the oven to 325F, though I liked the crisp outside. Lower the pan to 325F if you're making cupcakes & they should bake in about 18-20 minutes.

Overall the cake was very good. This is my first time making it in a loaf pan & it did take a long time. Perhaps it would have been good with 5 minutes less though, or like I said before a lower oven temp. I used Greek Yogurt because we had it in our fridge and nobody was eating it. As a result, the batter was very thick. This didn't change the result of cake, but one way to solve this issue would be to add a bit of buttermilk or sour milk.

Irish Soda Bread/Brown Bread

I decided to make Irish soda bread after I returned from a trip to Europe that ended in Ireland. I tasted soda bread several times in Ireland and the flavor was unlike any bread I had before. Even my last meal in the airport--porridge and soda bread--was delicious and very distinct from anything I could get in the U.S. When I arrived home I was determined to replicate the soda bread flavor as best I could, and I did quite a bit of research to find the perfect recipe.

I found this recipe online at http://www.sodabread.info/. They stress that traditional Irish soda bread is made with only flour, baking soda, salt, & buttermilk/sour milk.

There are also two variations: traditional (all white flour) or brown bread (some whole wheat and some white). Both methods of preparation and baking are the same. Today I made brown bread.

Ingredients for Brown Bread:
3 c wheat flour & 1 c white flour
1 1/2 t baking soda
1 t salt
14 oz buttermilk


Ingredients for Soda Bread:
4 c white flour
1 t baking soda
1 t salt
14 oz buttermilk

Preheat oven to 425 F. Grease & flour a 9'' round cake pan or dutch oven.

Sift all dry ingredients into a bowl and slowly add the buttermilk while mixing with a spoon. When combined into a dough, pour onto a floured surface, knead lightly, & press down into 1'' round.

Place into prepared pan and cut a large X in the top. Bake 30 mins with a cover on top, then 15 minutes uncovered. Remove from oven and cover with a towel to keep fresh.

The X on top is traditional and also so the bread can be broken into 4 pieces when served.

Oops, as I re-read the recipe to type it up here, I noticed that I added baking powder instead of baking soda. I don't think it will make much difference but I'll make a note once I taste the bread later.

UPDATE:
The bread came out of the oven, and it was kind of flat. It rose a little, but not as much as I would have liked. I blame this on two things: mistaking baking powder for baking soda and kneading. Kneading is very important and definitely a learned skill. I've made many an "okay" bread due to poor kneading, not enough kneading, (or in this case) over-kneading! Usually the bread will taste okay, but the texture will be ruined if you don't knead the bread correctly. So all I can say is practice, & follow the directions carefully.
I got a little ahead of myself & just dumped the dough out onto the board & started kneading, before I went back and re-read the directions which said "knead lightly". By then I was already past the point of no-return. I also selected a bowl that was too small for my ingredients, so I had trouble combining them all properly in the bowl, and used the kneading to properly get them to form together.

Next time I think I'll try using a method similar to how I make biscuits: combine the ingredients completely with a fork. Dump onto a floured surface & lightly fold the dough over and shape into a circle. Not much kneading involved and very delicate handling of the dough in general.

Pesto with Arugula

It's time to harvest all of our fresh basil--which means it's also time to make fresh pesto. I added arugula to the pesto to give it a slight variation of flavor, and substituted walnuts for pine nuts since that's what we had.

Ingredients:
2 c fresh basil
1 c arugula
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 c grated parmesan cheese
1/2 c olive oil
1/4 c pine nuts
pinch salt & a sprinkle of pepper

Combine all ingredients except the olive oil in a food processor. Turn on the machine & slowly pour the olive oil in the top. Scrape the sides if needed and continue combining until evenly blended. Serve over pasta, pizza, anything you like! Makes about 1 cup. Can be stored in the fridge for a few days.

 

Ricotta Gnocchi with Bolognese Sauce

In this version of ricotta gnocchi, I used some ricotta and some potato, instead of most recipes which substitute ricotta for all of the potato. I decided to make a meaty Bolognese sauce instead of just plain tomato, as it complements the flavor of the gnocchi nicely.

I usually buy about 2 lbs potatoes for 1 recipe of gnocchi. Since we're substituting some ricotta for 1 potato it's easiest to weigh out 2 lbs potatoes at the store then remove one.

First make the sauce. While that's cooking, make the gnocchi.

Ingredients for the Sauce:
2 T olive oil
1 carrot
1 stalk celery
1/2 large onion
4 oz fresh mushrooms
2 cloves garlic
1/4 c wine
10 leaves fresh basil
1 bay leaf
1 T parsley, dried, or more, fresh
1 t thyme, dried, or more, fresh
1 lb ground beef
1 28 oz can tomatoes
salt & pepper to taste

In a large saucepan, heat olive oil on M/H. Finely shop carrot, celery, onion & add to pan. Mince garlic & add. Chop the mushrooms and add those after a few minutes. When the onions are getting clear, pour in the wine and stir for 20 seconds, until the alcohol has boiled off. Add ground beef, breaking into small pieces as you go. Season with salt & pepper. After a few minutes, pour in your tomatoes & herbs, lower heat--I put mine on as low as it would go--and simmer for 1 hr, stirring occasionally.

Ingredients for the Gnocchi:
7 oz ricotta (about 1/2 a 15 oz container. If you want to substitute for 2 potatoes, use the whole container)
3 large baking potatoes (or about 1 1/2-1 3/4 lbs)
1 egg
1/2 t salt
flour

Wash the potatoes & boil them whole in salted water. Do not cut them, otherwise they become waterlogged and the gnocchi will not be light and fluffy. Make sure they cook all the way through and a fork goes in easily.

Drain the potatoes and peel when easy to handle (I'm usually impatient and do this right away, despite burning my fingers a bit). Push each potato through a ricer into a large bowl. If you don't have a ricer, you can also use a regular potato masher, but you won't get the same amount of airiness in your dough. Try to remove as many lumps as possible, if using the masher. Cover the potatoes with a towel and set aside to cool.

Once the potatoes are cool enough that cracking an egg into them won't cook the egg, go ahead and add the egg to the bowl.  (I remember this always confused me when I was a kid: "Potatoes cooking an egg, I don't understand!"). Sprinkle in the 1/2 t salt, and add in the ricotta. With a fork, mix everything together, being careful not to smash the potatoes too much; we're not making mashed potatoes, we're trying to keep it the consistency of a light dough.

Once the ricotta and potatoes are evenly distributed, begin sprinkling flour over the mixture, while still mixing with the fork. It will get harder to mix as you add more flour. Stop adding flour when the mixture has formed a dough and it is only slightly sticky to the touch. (If in doubt, err on the side of adding too little flour, than adding too much.)

Gather the dough into a ball, and dump onto a floured working surface. Knead until the stickiness is gone and the dough is workable, adding flour as needed. This only takes about a minute. Roll into a log, then slice into thick 1'' slices. Sprinkle more flour on your work surface, then roll each slice into a long snake, about 1/2'' in diameter. Cut each snake into 3/4'' angled pieces and roll in extra flour, before placing on a floured baking pan. Do this for each of the slices of dough, until all of them are cut into gnocchi, floured, and on the pan. Boil water and cook the same day.

When cooking gnocchi, use a wide-brimmed pot and only place enough in to cover the bottom layer. They will cook in about 1-2 minutes. Stir them around, as they might stick to the bottom. As soon as they float to the top of the water, fish them out using a large strainer or slotted spoon.

When I finished making the gnocchi, my sauce had about 15 minutes left to cook. I set a pot of water to boil, and when the timer for the sauce was done, my gnocchi were just done cooking. I couldn't have asked for better timing!

Next time I think I'll either cut the meat in half or double the tomatoes and veggies, to make the sauce more "saucey", but as of now I'm satisfied because I was craving something really meaty tonight and that's exactly what I got.