Strawberry Peach Pie
I was going to make a Green Tomato Pie. Somewhere between the tomatoes and the refrigerator, I changed my mind.
The tomatoes will keep. I had a basket of strawberries that needed eating, along with two peaches that looked absolutely gorgeous - but just didn't cut it in the flavor department.
A Strawberry Peach Pie was born.
I cut up the peaches, cleaned up the strawberries and cut the largr ones. Added about 3/4 cup of sugar, a bit of cinnamon, and a couple tablespoons of cornstarch. I then added a splash of apricot brandy to the bowl and mixed everything really well. There was a bit more liquid than necessary, but - what the heck. I put it all in.
Baked at 425° for 45 minutes and let cool.
It was real good.....
And, no... I didn't make my own pie crust. I bought it. Homemade are better.
Working With What You Have
I didn't feel like shopping after work today. I was reasonably sure there was enough of something to make dinner. I had pulled a couple of chicken breasts out of the freezer before leaving for work and we had leftover pasta from last night.
Since I knew we were going to be gone for a couple of days, I hadn't done huge shopping, but also figured there was stuff in the fridge. There always is.
I found a few mushrooms, a bell pepper, belgian endive, and a half of a red onion. So.....
I browned the chicken in olive oil and set aside. I put the onion in the pan and cooked a bit, added the rest of the veggies and then a splash of wine. Placed the chicken on top and popped it into the oven for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, I heated the pasta from last night and made garlic bread from the loaf of Italian Bread I bought at Penn Station yesterday on the way home. It was from Zaro's. Really good stuff!
So... in less than 30 minutes, we had a great dinner on the table.
Pasticcio di Pasta ai Quattro Formaggi
Or... Macaroni and Cheese - Italian-style...
We had a bit of time to burn at Penn Station, so off to Hudson News I went to see what fabulous literary offerings were in the offering.
Big store. Slim pickin's. My eyes glazed over at the wall of political books. Sorry, but if you need to read someone else's book to figure out who you're going to vote for in November... well...
This is a food blog, so other than the fact that you won't get any recipes for Mooseburgers here, I'll leave it at that...
Off in the magazine area, I picked up a copy of La Cucina Italiana. It's an Italian cooking magazine I've picked up a couple of times. The recipes are usually pretty good, but the cooking instructions can often annoy me... (I hate when magazines over-explain things...)
ANYWAY...
I came across a recipe entitled Pasticcio di Pasta ai Quattro Formaggi. In reading the recipe, it was pretty much how my mom used to make her macaroni and cheese back when I was a kid. I'll copy their recipe and annotate where I changed things...
Bechamel sauce:
- 2 cups whole milk (I used skim)
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- 3 tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- Freshly grated Nutmeg
Pasta:
- 2 1/2 ounces fontina cheese, cubed (about 1/2 cup) (I used provelone)
- 2 1/2 ounces asiago cheese, cubed (about 1/2 cup) (I used Port Salut)
- 3 ounces gorgonzola cheese, crumbled (about 1/2 cup)
- 1 pound short pasta, like penne (I used dried tortolini)
- 1 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Granna Padano cheese (I used a domestic parmesan)
Heat oven to 475°. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.
For the bechamel: In a medium saucepan, heat milk over medium-low heat; bring just to boil then remove from heat. In a large saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Add flour; cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon for two minutes. Do not brown. Remove from heat. Add 2 tablespoons milk to flour mixture, stirring constantly until milk is incorporated. Repeat until 1/2 cup of the milk has been incorporated.Add remaining milk 1/2 cup at a time, incorporating between additions, until all milk has been added. Return to low heat and cook, stirring frequently, especially along corners of pan, until bechamel is the consistency of thick cream. Stir in salt, season with nutmeg and remove from heat; cover to keep warm. (I made a simple white sauce with 3 tbsp butter, 3 tbsp flour, and 2 cups milk, added a pinch of salt and a bit of fresh nutmeg. Took about 4 minutes. I then added about a quarter of the cheese cubes, stirred, and then let it simmer on a very low heat while I did the other stuff.)
For The Pasta: Combine fontina, asiago, and gorgonzola in a large bowl. Cook pasta in boiling water untilo al dente. Drain pasta, immediately add to bowl of cheese, add bechamel and toss together to combine well. Transfer pasta to a baking dish, sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano and bake until bheated through, about 10 minutes. Serve immediately.
It really came out great!
My mom's mac and cheese always started out with a white sauce and whatever odds and ends of cheese she had in the 'fridge. And the pasta was always elbow macaroni. This is the first time I've seen a recipe that even came close to hers.
It really was good!
EuroPan Bakery NYC
Many moons ago, when we first started going to NYC, we used to always stop off at a bakery cafe in Times Square to plan our day. One day, after walking up from Penn Station, we walked around the corner and there was a gaping hole where "our" cafe used to be.
It threw us for a loop, to say the least. We survived, just as we have survived the remaking of Times Square into a Disney-Ride. But I do miss a lot of what the old neighborhood had to offer - including some cheap (for NYC) places to eat.
So... here we are back up in NYC to see South Pacific at the Lincoln Center Theatre (an absolutely FABULOUS show!!!) and as we're walking up Columbus at 58th, there, on the corner - is The EuroPan! I find out that there are several of them in the city - including one in Times Square not far from out original haunt.
We stopped in last night after the show for Panini's and dessert, and were back over this morning for coffee and strawberry cheese croissants.
What the heck - we're in New York.....
It was good to see an old friend, again, and even better to get some really good - and reasonably priced for New York - food.
Chicken Delight
Back when I was a kid, there was a delivery-and-take-out place in San Francisco called "Chicken Delight." Their slogan was "Don't cook tonight, call Chicken Delight." It was just a few blocks from our home, and although my parents rarely (and I do mean rarely) bought take-out or delivery, I still remember their fried chicken. It was pretty good stuff from a kid's point of view.
That little story has absolutely nothing to do with tonight's dinner, except the name. The long-gone Chicken Delight had a menu similar to The Colonel's back when The Colonel was still running the show and definitely didn't have a breaded breast fillet with homemade pasta sauce and cheese. Or ziti with garlic butter. Or fresh broccoli.
I'd love to taste a bit of Chicken Delight today to see if it really was as good as my childhood tastebuds remember. I have a feeling, though, that I'd change my mond...
Baby Burgers with Happy Hal's Jalapeno Relish
I'm still cooking. And it's even been pretty good stuff this past week. I guess I've just been a bit lazy about getting the camera out. (I mean, it's such a chore bringing it all the way from the office to the kitchen and then back again. And then there's the whole issue of resizing it..)
But I digress...
Sunday, I made another tiella to take to a neighborhood party, Monday was grilled chicken salads, Tuesday Bool Kogi, Wednesday chicken and beef brochettes, and last night's mini-burgers.
The burgers were on little petite rolls with gorgonzola cheese and jalapeno relish. Not just any jalapeno relish, though - Happy Hal's Jalapeno Relish! It is most excellent! We use it on all sorts of things, and just love it! In fact, it shall be included in several Christmas baskets this year. Yum!
Still cooking. Still having fun. Now... if only the election were over...