Pasta Night
Just about any night around here can be pasta night, but I went to bed last night thinking of pasta, olives, and fresh tomatoes. I had been out earlier in the day picking more tomatoes and peppers and was thinking a fresh sauce was in order. We have plenty of jarred sauce downstairs - and plenty of fresh tomatoes that need using up.
I made a few pints of pepper relish yesterday and there's a bush-load of tabasco peppers out there that I hope will make a few bottles of hot sauce this weekend.
The garden is slowing down, but it ain't finished.
As I headed off to Wegman's for my weekly grocery trek, olives stayed front and center in my mind. I hit their Mediterranean Bar and picked up a pint of assorted pitted olives. They went into the skillet with chopped fresh tomatoes, onions, garlic, a bit of oregano, and lots of pepato cheese - a sheep's milk cheese with peppercorns from Sicily.
I thought about chopping the olives but decided I wanted to taste different olives instead of having everything blended together. Either way would work - this is what I chose this time.
My original vision had wide noodles soaking up the sauce - I really do have a vivid imagination when it comes to this stuff - but when heading into the cupboard, I found a bag of Arcobaleno - rainbow - pasta shaped like a rather large orecchiette.
Vision was tweaked a bit.
Sausage was cooked off with some onion and garlic - and a goodly splash of red wine. And then fresh tomatoes were added. No peeling or seeding...
I cooked it down and then added the olives and cipollini onions.
Heated it all through, added the pasta that was slightly undercooked, and finished it off in the sauce.
It came out exactly as I hoped it would, albeit with a bit more heat than Nonna likes. She ate a goodly amount but wanted a piece of cheese cake to cool her mouth off.
We, on the other hand, went for it with both barrels. And... there's enough left for lunch tomorrow.
Life is good.
Lasagne
I took some ground beef out of the freezer before work this morning, figuring I'd throw something together when I got home. I had no plan - but we do have plenty of things to use up... lots of tomatoes from the garden, cheeses... we always have a well-stocked larder.
We're actually going out tonight - just like Big People. Tickets to see HAIR at Footlighter's Theater in Berwyn - right down the road from us.
I first saw HAIR in 1968 at the Geary Theatre in San Francisco with my high school Drama class. I'm thinking it may have been my very first actual real, live, professional theatre experience. It was pretty cool and it definitely set the stage - so to speak - for my love of live performances. The Geary back in those days had a third balcony that was pretty much right up against the ceiling and the back wall. The stairs were steep and if you tripped you probably would have gone tumbling over and into the crowd below.
Berger, in the San Francisco run, swung down from that third balcony onto the stage for a pretty dramatic entrance. I'm not sure if he was in his loincloth at that point or if it came later, but... I was enthralled. A live cute boy swinging through the air and in a loincloth on stage. I was definitely in my element!
I've been humming the music all day, revisiting those thrilling days of yesteryear, and was thinking of what to make on the way home. When I walked in the house, Victor had dinner all made - LASAGNE!!!
Talk about psyched!
Major Let the Sunshine In!
Ya know how something unexpected can sometimes be so much better than something planned? This was one of those times - especially since Victor makes such good lasagne!
The toothpicks show the dividing line between the hot pepper side and the Nonna-No-Pepper side. She won't eat spicy and we love it. We do what we need to do...
Layers of cheese and ground beef and tomatoes and tomato sauce from the garden...
It's the dawning of the age of aquarius!
Eggplant Timbale
Victor spent the day in the kitchen whilst I was at work, today...
We harvested another seven eggplants, so he set to work creating spectacular foods utilizing the garden bounty. It's rough being us...
First off was a vat of Little Gram's Eggplant Appetizer. It's our go-to for fabulous caponata.
Naturally, it came out perfect. It's great as a bruschetta, a pasta sauce, hot, cold, room temperature... It's eggplant perfection.
And then we had even more eggplant perfection in the form of a timbale. Victor really did spend the day in the kitchen!
A timbale is not difficult to make, but it does take a bit of time. There are lots of steps involved, starting with cutting and cooking - in this case - the eggplant.
Here's a basic recipe. Amounts will vary depending upon how big you make it. Victor baked off a 10" timbale. Your results may vary.
Eggplant Timbale
- eggplant
- pancetta
- peppers
- ground beef
- peas
- pasta sauce
- penne pasta
- shredded cheese
- olive oil
- bread crumbs
First step is to slice the eggplant and cook it. You can oven-bake, grill, or fry. Victor oven-baked it, today by brushing it with olive oil and cooking it in a 350°F oven for about 25 minutes.
Next, chop pancetta and peppers.
The peppers came out of the garden. they're not really hot but have good flavor.
Saute the pancetta...
Add the peppers...
And the ground beef...
And then the sauce and peas... Cook the penne and mix it all well...
Oil and liberally coat a springform pan with bread crumbs. The breadcrumbs help to release the timbale when it's cooked.
Line the pan with the cooked eggplant...
Add a layer of shredded cheese...
Next, a layer of the penne pasta mixture...
More cheese...
More pasta mixture...
More cheese and then fold the eggplant over the top, pressing down to compact and encasing everything.
A few crumbs on top...
And into a preheated 350°F oven for about an hour and 15 minutes. If you plan on inverting the timbale onto a serving platter, bake as-is. If you are not going to invert, add sauce and cheese to the top midway through.
Remove from the oven and let sit at least 20 minutes before serving or inverting onto a platter.
Cut into wedges, and enjoy!
This really is an awesome dish and one that anyone can make. Victor used just one eggplant for the entire dish, a half-pound of ground beef, maybe 2 oz of pancetta, a half bag of frozen peas, maybe 6oz of shredded cheese, 4 small peppers, a quart of sauce, and a pound of pasta.
It definitely needs to set for at least 20 minutes if not a bit longer, so plan accordingly.
If we were making it for company, we would have inverted it onto the platter and topped it with additional heated pasta sauce dripping down the sides for that dramatic effect. For the two of us, the springform pan liner was sufficient.
So get yourself an eggplant and get cooking!
Eggplant and Pepper Lasagne
Last night we were discussing tonight's dinner - Victor had said he wanted to make an eggplant lasagne - when he asked what I thought of adding some of the hot peppers from the garden. My eyes lit up, I started drooling, and said "YES!!!" Eggplant from the garden. Tomatoes from the garden. Peppers from the garden. Basil and oregano from the garden. It just doesn't get any better.
This is how easy cooking at our house is... A comment was made and a recipe was born... And it's a recipe that will be made again and again.
This really is the secret to cooking - take something you know you like and play with it. It's just not difficult. And for all those folks out there who say they're just not creative... Yes, you are. Just go for it - to quote a famous footwear and apparel company. Seriously, the worst thing - the absolutely worst thing that can happen is you throw it all out and call for pizza.
I have to admit that I've made a few things that I'll never make again, but I haven't had to call for pizza, yet.
Tonight, Victor made his basic Eggplant Lasagne and added peppers in the layers. He seeded and fried the peppers in olive oil and then added the oil to the homemade, fresh from the garden tomato sauce. It was outrageously good.
It's amazing what you can do with a single eggplant. And there's a lot more where this one came from.
I think tomorrow night I'm doing something with short ribs. And more goodies from the garden...
Eggplant Lasagne
I now have another recipe that I never have to make. Ya know how some folks just own a recipe? They make it the best and there's just no reason to try and make it, yourself. On this coast, it's things like Marie's Jelly Strips and Joanna's Wedding Rings. I'm not going to improve on them, so there's just no reason to make them. I'm satisfied getting them when they make them.
The latest in my getting-longer list of recipes is Eggplant Lasagne. Victor owns this one. I'm just not going to bother.
I've been going crazy looking for a post and a recipe because he's made this a lot - but I'll be damned if I can find one. I can't believe I haven't documented this one, before. It's just too damned good.
The premise is quite simple - build a lasagne, but use slices of eggplant as the noodles. It's stellar.
Layers of homemade sauce, floured, breaded, and fried eggplant, ricotta, mozzarella, more sauce, fresh basil... layers upon layers of greatness, covered, baked, and then served to the salivating crowd.
It's that good.
That's a 9x13 pan. Enough lasagne for the neighborhood. I'm going to portion and freeze some tomorrow. I've been emptying out the freezer to hold our summer bounty.
There are more eggplants on the vine - and more dishes to create.
I'm thinking an eggplant souffle... I wonder if I can convince him to start making souffles?!?
Hmmmmmmm.....
Sunday Pasta
The first eggplant came off the vine, today! It was smallish - it could have grown few more days - but it's mid-July. We're ready to start partaking!
There are two eggplant plants out there. We're going to be up to our eyeballs in eggplant, pretty soon but this is one recipe that just can't be beat - and with just a couple of tweaks here and there, it can go from appetizer to entree in nothing flat.
The recipe is Little Gram's. It's her mom's version of a caponata and it really is good. Today, Victor left out the mint and added a chopped hot Italian pepper. Little tweaks...
Little Gram lived for 105 years - and at 93, finally started writing down her recipes. The whole recipe collection is here on the website. They're a lot of fun. One thing to remember is the recipes evolved over time and ingredients weren't measured. Make them, play with them, and enjoy them.
Although this originally was an appetizer, tonight, it was a sauce for pasta.
Eggplant Appetizer
Ingredients:
- 1 medium eggplant
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 3/4 cups halved or chopped green olives
- 3 cups thinned Italian tomato sauce
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 6 tablespoons vinegar
- 1/4 chopped Locatelli cheese
- 2 tablespoons capers
- fresh basil and mint
Cut eggplant in strips the size of French fries. Salt and let stand about an a hour. Dry on a paper towel. Deep fry in hot oil. Keep oil as hot as possible without burning. Add eggplant one at a time and keep adding one at a time to keep the oil at the same temperature. Fry each one until tender and cooked. Drain on paper towels.
To Make Sauce:
Parboil celery for ten minutes. Add olives and cook another five minutes. Drain all water out of the pot. Add the thinned tomato sauce and boil for ten minutes. Add vinegar and sugar. Cook for three minutes. Add cheese. Make it come to a boil and then turn off heat and allow to cool.
Pour sauce over fried eggplants. Garnish with fresh Basil and mint that have been sliced into very thin strips.
No matter how you do it - it will be great! And if you happen to have a loaf of fresh-baked bread... really go for it!
Pork with Robiola
Several years ago we donated a few hundred cook books to the local library book drive. That left us with only a hundred or so downstairs - since there's no room upstairs to keep them. A hundred flippin' cook books. It's rather ludicrous on one hand - but on the other hand, these are the books I keep going to for inspiration. They're mostly the classics - Julia Child, Jacques Pepin, Lidia, of course, Vegetarian Epicure, Greens, Moosewood, Chez Panisse, Marcella Hazan, Joy of Cooking, and a pretty beat up copy of Better Homes and Gardens. Along with those hundred books are a few dozen copies of La Cucina Italiana magazine, Cooks Illustrated, Bon Appetit, and a couple of old Gourmet magazines - and a file folder of recipes I've cut out of magazines and have never done anything with.
I'm not really obsessive. Really.
Okay... maybe a little. The odd thing about it all, though, is I really don't follow recipes very well. I read them, get ideas, and then make something - often completely different from what I originally read.
And the hard part is translating what I did to paper - or - electronic media. Whatever.
Like tonight's dinner...
Someplace, somewhere, I saw a recipe using Robiola Cheese - a cow, sheep, and goat milk cheese from Italy. It sounded really good - and I promptly forgot about it. Today, I was at the grocers, and saw a half-round of Robiola cheese. It was one of those OMG! moments! I picked it up without even looking at the price or really knowing what I was going to do with it. I'm usually a reasonably-savvy shopper, but sometimes... Fortunately, I didn't have to take out a second mortgage for it - it was pretty reasonable.
UNfortunately, I got home and started searching for that robiola recipe - and couldn't find it. It doesn't help that I really don't remember what the recipe was, but I'm semi-reasonably sure I'd recognize it if I saw it, again. Maybe. Or maybe not.
What I did find was a recipe for Pork Loin with Robiola - Lombatine di maiale con robiola - on the La Cucina Italiana site.
Here's the translated recipe:
Pork Loin with Robiola
- 4 pork loin 450 gr
- robiola 100 gr
- yogurt 50 gr
- butter 50g
- 1 orange
- 1 egg
- stewed onions
- bread crumbs
- flour
- mild mustard
- mixed pepper
- chopped parsley
- extra virgin olive oil
- salt
Melt the butter with whole orange rind and a good grinding of pepper mixed. When it is melted, add a pinch of chopped parsley, turn off and let cool. Mix the soft cheese with the yogurt and the cold use butter, formed a Salametto and wrap in baking paper. Put it in the freezer for 30 '. Brush the mustard loins on both sides, then roll them in flour, beaten egg and breadcrumbs. Cook them in a pan with hot oil. Add salt and serve with a Salametto washer robiola and stewed onions.
First, you'll notice that mine looks a bit different. The recipe was actually for a robiola compound-butter that was placed atop the cooked pork chop. I was using a pork tenderloin and wanted a more pronounced sauce - not a cold butter.
I did spread a bit of dijon mustard on the pork scallops before flouring, dipping, and bread crumbs, but the sauce was wing-it. I melted a couple of tablespoons of butter in a small pan, added half the cheese - maybe 3 ounces - and let it melt. I stirred in the grated rind of 1 lemon, a handful of chopped parsley, and a handful of chopped chives - and a hefty pinch of pepper.
Yumlicious.
A fun primi needs a fun secondi so I did a search for patate and found a really interesting potato torta - Torta di Patate. I had the ingredients for the potato cake itself, and had a bag of spinach that needed using. To work I went.
Potato Cake
- milk 250 g
- potatoes 200 gr
- Dry homemade bread 150 gr
- beans 120 gr
- 3 eggs -
- a tomato -
- butter -
- flour -
- basil -
- extra virgin olive oil -
- salt -
- pepper -
To prepare the cake of peeled potatoes and cook the potatoes in boiling water for 15-20 ', then drain and sieve. Private bread crust and ammollatelo in milk. Mix the potatoes with the slightly squeezed bread, eggs, a big dollop of chopped basil, salt and pepper; pour the mixture into a mold (ø 22 cm) greased and floured. Bake at 160 ° C for 25 '. Slit tomato, sbollentatelo for half a minute and remove skin; remove the seeds and cut it into cubes. Trim the green beans and boil them in boiling water for 6-8 '. Drain, cut into bobbins and toss in a pan for 3-4 'in a thin layer of oil. Remove from the heat and add the diced tomato. Remove from the oven and cover the cake with green beans and diced tomato.
I made the potato cake pretty much as written, except I used three small individual molds. Presentation is everything, right?!?
I sauteed shallots in a pat of butter, added the spinach, a splash of white wine, and some S&P. Done.
The main thing you need to remember when doing a Google-translated recipe, is that Google does not translate recipes very well. Another thing is European recipes do not give the step-by-step detailed instructions the modern American cook has gotten used to. They start off on the premise that you know where the kitchen is.
And ya need to know Metric. I have a little electronic scale that can be set to just about anything from grams to ounces, pounds to kilograms - and it was under $10. You can Google temperature conversions...
In the meantime... I think it may be time to revisit some of those books downstairs... There's a feast awaitin' us, I just know it!
Torta di Patate
When I described what I was thinking of making for dinner, tonight, Victor's first comment was You're going to be a force to be reckoned with when you're retired. I think he was making reference to the messes I was going to create, not my culinary abilities, but I'll take it. Some of my kitchen messes truly are legendary - although his have been getting better since he retired. While it really would be difficult to use every pan in the kitchen - as we have so many - we're both pretty good at using more than two for a meal.
Tonight's meal was brought to us by an email from La Cucina Italiana. The dish was ropes of mashed potatoes coiled in a pan and topped with fresh sardines. And it used more than two pots.
I get regular emails from la Cucina - all in Italian - and have gotten reasonably good at figuring out the gist of what they're trying to say. Google translate is hysterical at translating recipes, but, I kinda get what they're trying to say - being able to cook does help.
I loved the idea of this, but fresh sardines are not all that plentiful out here in 'burbia. Besides, it is Sunday and I didn't feel like leaving the house. I had taken some veal Italian sausage out of the freezer last night, so I thought I could expound on this idea and make a filled torta and use roasted peppers for the topping. The look is really cool and it is all about the visual... And I wanted it to be something Nonna would eat.
The sardine torta is what got the creative juices flowing. As you can see, the dish I came up with is pretty much nothing like the original. It was made in a shallow pan. I made mine in an 8"x3" springform - the one that arrived last week after I made the Tourte Milanese in an 8" cake pan. Do you notice the Italian theme to most of my cooking, nowadays?!?
For my version, I roasted 2 green peppers on the grill and then peeled and seeded them. Next was boiling potatoes. I used a combination of yukon gold and white Jersey sweet potatoes.
Next, I sauteed the sausage with diced onions and a bit of garlic and then set it side to cool. I had an 8oz ball of fresh mozzarella, so I cubed it and mixed it in with the sausage and onions when it was cooled down.
I mashed the potatoes while they were hot and mixed in some shredded Italian cheeses. When they were cool, I added one whole egg and 2 egg yolks, along with some salt and pepper.
I buttered the pan and covered it liberally with bread crumbs.
One the bottom went a layer of potatoes - maybe 1/3" thick. I rolled a rope of potatoes on the counter - lightly floured to keep from sticking - and placed the first rope in the pan along the bottom edge.
I then added the sausage and cheese mixture, mounding it in the center.
I did two more potato ropes, laying strips of roasted green pepper on top. I added a big swirl of potatoes in the middle and then a final rope along the edge because I had the potatoes to do it with. Into a 350°F oven for an hour.
It worked. It really worked. I was most impressed with the fact that it actually held together. Nonna thought it was different - but she cleaned her plate.
The fun thing about dishes like this is you really can do anything with them. You could make it a completely vegetarian filling - broccoli rabe would probably rock - as well as any number of summer squashes... Mix roasted butternut squash with the potatoes...
The possibilities really are limited only by your imagination.
Buon appetito!
Polenta con Ragù di Carni Bianche
That sounds so much more impressive than polenta with a white meat sauce, doesn't it?!? But that's exactly what the fancy named dish is - a really good meat sauce made with milk and chicken stock - and a mere 2 tablespoons of tomato paste - in place of copious amounts of tomatoes. Northern Italian...
I headed down to the local library today to get a new book on tape. Well... An audio book. On CD. You know what I mean. Old habits die hard around here.
But after getting my book - Tatiana by Martin Cruz Smith - I perused the stacks and found a Lidia cook book we don't have - Lidia Cooks From The Heart Of Italy.
I've been back to the library a lot more, recently. Have you noticed that Kindle books - electronic, digital, nothing-but-electronic transferring - are becoming more expensive than print books? It truly is the scam what am. I really like my Kindle, but I'm also a cheap SOB when it comes to stuff like this. I can wait the two days for the print copy - or just head to the Library a few blocks away.
I guess he has to pay for that Whole Foods acquisition, somehow...
But back to Lidia...
I started glancing through the book, looking for things I could make with ingredients already in the house. No way do I walk into a grocery store on a weekend. I.Just.Won't.Do.It.
Fortunately, our usually well-stocked larder was well-stocked enough for the white meat sauce. I had the beef/pork/veal mix in the freezer from my last trek to Reading Terminal Market and carrots, onion, and celery are always in the house. Always.
Her recipe calls for three pounds of meat - I had 1 1/2 pounds and it made a lot of sauce, so plan accordingly.
Ragù di Carni Bianche
Adapted From Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy
by Lidia Bastianich.Ingredients:
- 1/2 pound ground beef
- 1/2 pound ground pork
- 1/2 pound ground veal
- 1 medium onion, cut in chunks
- 1 medium carrot, cut in chunks
- 1 medium stalk celery, cut in chunks
- extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp. butter
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 3/4 cup white wine
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- 4 cups very hot chicken broth
- 2 fresh bay leaves
Directions:
- Lightly mix ground meats together.
- Mince the onions, carrots and celery chunks in a food processor to an even textured paste. Saute the paste in a large saucepan with the butter and 2 tbsp olive oil over medium high heat. Cook and stir the pestata until it has dried out and is beginning to stick, about 5 mins.
- Quickly crumble all the meat into the pan, stir with the pestata, sprinkle over it 1 more teaspoon of salt and cook, tossing and stirring occasionally, until the meat starts to release its juices. Turn up the heat a bit, and continue cooking and stirring the meat as the juices evaporate, about 10 minutes, taking care that the meat doesn't brown and crisp.
- When the juices have disappeared, pour in the white wine, bring it to a bubbling simmer, and cook until evaporated, 2 or 3 minutes. When the wine has cooked away, add the tomato paste and cook a minute or so. Next, pour in the milk and cook, stirring until it has cooked down.
- Ladle 1 cup of hot stock into the pan, just enough to cover the meat. Stir in the bay leaves and bring the liquid to an active simmer. Cover the pan, adjust the heat so the liquid is steadily bubbling (not rapidly boiling), and cook for 15-20 minutes, letting the broth gradually reduce. Stir in about 2 more cups hot stock, just to cover the meat again, then give another 20-minute period of covered cooking and reducing. Stir in a final cup of stock, and cook, covered until the ragu is thick and concentrated, 20 minutes or so. (The sauce should have cooked for at least an hour and incorporated 4 cups of stock in total.)
- Taste the ragu and adjust the seasoning.
Nonna had hers over pasta because she doesn't like polenta - but she really missed out. The polenta was perfect with it. It was meaty, creamy, filling - very filling. Neither of us finished our bowls.
There is plenty of sauce leftover for another meal. I'll have to think of something fun to pair this with.
Spaghetti
We don't seem to eat a lot of spaghetti, anymore. We both love it but Nonna no longer cares for long noodles. Our pasta dishes have become more rigatoni and penne - and less linguine and vermicelli.
But, every now and again, the stars align and spaghetti ends up in the pot. Today was one of those alignments.
I had to work a bit late, so Nonna was fed early. That meant we could have anything we wanted - at whatever time we wanted!
Spaghetti with Anchovies, Porcini Mushrooms, and Sun-Dried Tomatoes!
A really simple throw-together of garlic, olive oil, anchovies, reconstituted porcini mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes in oil, freshly-grated parmesan, and fresh basil.
The kind of meal that can make a grown man weep - it was so good. I ate that whole plate - and then sopped up the oil in the bottom of the plate with french bread.
The plate - the pasta bowl - is another thing that doesn't come out often enough. It's a part of our dinnerware we had made in Florence. That really does sound pretentious, doesn't it?!? But... pretentious or no, even with shipping, it was less expensive than china we have seen registered for a few weddings... and we got to meet the people who actually made it! I can't even begin to describe how cool it was to sit down and talk about the sizes, the shapes, and the patterns for each of the pieces.
It sits on the sideboard and we see it every day - we just don't use it, enough.
The Franciscan Desert Rose has pretty much taken over as our everyday china - with the Cost Plus china coming in second, the Sur la Table plates coming in third, and the various other sets following. We have a plate fetish - seriously. Not long ago - after getting the Desert Rose - I bought a set of Anchor Hocking Royal Ruby Red glass dinnerware. It was exactly the stuff my grandmother had - as was the Desert Rose.
We have a complete set of Mikasa Fruit Panorama. And I do mean complete. Cups, bowls, plates, footed bowls, trays, platters...
And Aunt Dolores' china...
And my grandmother's china...
And Victor's Mom's china...
And our everyday stuff...
And the square glass stuff...
And the pressed glass Christmas service for 36...
And don't even get me started on platters and serving pieces... there are so many handmade bowls and platters we could open an art gallery. And every bit of it has a story - the platter we bought in Rome, the cake plate we bought in Caltagirone - and broke in our luggage and Victor put back together. The huge bowl and platter we bought in Little Italy in New York and carried back on the train.
One of these days we're going to have to seriously sit down and figure this stuff out. There is glassware and stemware that we'll never use. Plates downstairs in the basement that just collect dust. But where to even begin at this point? So much fun. So many meals. So many memories.
And so much dust.
Broccoli Cheesecake
I love my emails from La Cucina Italiana. In fact, they may be just about the only non-family-and-friends emails I do like.
I'm getting old and crotchety. Constant barrages of Buy Now! Save! Limited Time Offer! and Exclusive! Just For You! drive me up the friggin' wall. Contrary to the statement that the more I spend, the more I save, the less I spend, the more I save. I get enough alternative facts from The White House - I don't need them in my inbox.
As I hit delete without ever opening, I do stop and look at La Cucina. I may not make anything they're highlighting, but it gives me a few minutes to remember where I'd rather be - under an olive tree in Sicily...
Because the emails are all in Italian, I rely on my limited Italian, pictures, and Google Translate to get the gist of them. It can lead to some interesting reads and occasional confusion.
Today, there was a recipe for a cauliflower cheesecake. How could it possibly be bad? Only thing was - I didn't have any cauliflower. Or robiola cheese. I did, however, have broccoli. And Boursin. A plan was in the making.
Here's the recipe - translated by Google:
Cauliflower Cheesecake with Anchovy
- cauliflower florets 400 gr
- robiola 200 gr
- creamy white cheese 150 gr
- rusks 100 gr
- fresh cream 50 gr
- butter plus a little '40 gr
- nonfat yogurt 20 gr
- Flour 15 gr
- 2 eggs
- anchovy
- salt
- pepper
Set aside a few houseline cauliflower to complete, the rest do not boil it in salted boiling water for 6-8 '. Drain the florets and cut into slices. Crumble the toasted slices with butter and impastatele getting the bricioloni. Lined with parchment paper the bottom of a springform pan (ø 19 cm, h 8 cm) and buttered the edges.
Spread the butter mixture on the bottom and partly on the edge, pressing so that good compact. Mix the soft cheese with the cream cheese and flour; then add the yogurt, cream, eggs, salt and pepper: you will get a fairly liquid cream.
Spread a thin layer of cream in the mold then add the cauliflower slices, cover with the rest of the cream cheese and bake at 180 ° C for 35-40 '. Remove from the oven, let cool, misshapen, completed with raw florets kept aside and cut into slices with a few drops of anchovy. Then served sliced.
After you've done this for a while, it actually makes sense. Grams to ounces is extremely easy - we learned this conversion back in the '70s - and the rest of it is just using your basic cooking skills.
My version took on a bit of a twist... Broccoli and mushrooms in place of the Cauliflower, Boursin in place of robiola, breadcrumbs and panko mixed in place of the rusk, no yogurt, and no anchovy.
I used a 6" springform pan, baked at 350°F for 40 minutes, and probably could have let it go another 10 minutes. But the flavor was outstanding!
I also topped it with some of the leftover breadcrumbs from the base. Extra crunch is always good.
And then to compliment the cheesecake, I made an Italianesque Pot Roast. Red wine, tomatoes, basil, oregano, radicchio, onion, porcini mushrooms... the basic flavors...
I plated everything up and called Nonna in for dinner. I was a bit unsure of how she was going to react since she generally doesn't like new things, and her first reaction was what?!? cheesecake for dinner?!? when I told her it was a broccoli cheesecake. She didn't say anything, pushed it around her plate a bit - and then proceeded to all but lick her plate clean.
She liked it. A lot.
And it was good! Very simple to put together and really worth the time to make.
I can see this concept used for any number of vegetables - and since it's served room temperature or cold, summer's going to be fun!
Focaccia Genovese
While I was working, Saturday, Victor was cooking - shades of what retirement is going to be like in a couple of weeks! We're both looking forward to this. As much as I like to cook, it will be nice not having that "5 o'clock" deadline looming when I get home.
When I walked in, the first thing I smelled was baking bread. There are not a lot of scents out there that can top that one - especially since it included fresh basil... This is not a bad way to start the weekend unwind...
The recipe comes from one of our many Lidia Bastianich cook books - Lidia’s Commonsense Italian Cooking. They're excellent cook books.
Focaccia Genovese
adapted from Lidia's Commonsense Italian Cooking.
For the focaccia:
- 1 pkt yeast
- 1 tsp sugar
- 6 tbsp olive oil
- 6 cups flour
- 2 tsp kosher salt
For the topping:
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup chopped basil
- 3 tbsp grana padano, grated
Dissolve the yeast and sugar in ½ cup warm water (90 to 110 degrees F). Let the mixture sit a few minutes, until the yeast is bubbly.
Put the proofed yeast in a mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Pour in another 1½ cups warm water and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the flour, holding back about ½ cup of the total measured amount. Add the salt. Mix on low speed to combine into a wet dough. If the dough is still dry or seems tight, add up to ½ cup more warm water, a little at a time. If it seems too wet, add up to the remaining ½ cup flour, a little at a time. Knead the dough on medium speed until it is soft and springy and leaves the sides of the bowl clean, about 3 to 4 minutes.
Dump the dough on a floured counter, and knead a few times by hand to bring together into a ball. Oil a large bowl, and toss the dough to coat. Cover, and let rise until doubled in size, about
1 to 1½ hours, depending on the temperature of your room.
Punch down the dough. Oil a half sheet pan with olive oil, and dump the dough into the sheet pan. Press with your fingers to fit dough to the edges of the pan. Let rise another 30 minutes, uncovered. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Once the dough has risen, gently press indentations in the dough with your fingertips, about 1 inch apart. Bake until set, about 10 to 15 minutes, pull out of oven, and brush with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Finish baking until the focaccia is golden brown on the top and bottom, about 25 minutes in all.
While the dough finishes baking, in a bowl stir together the basil, grated cheese, and the remaining olive oil. As soon as you remove focaccia from oven, spread with the basil mixture.
Crispy exterior, light interior - the perfect bread. I made grilled cheese sandwiches with it for lunch, today.
I'm going to have fun getting used to this...
Oh... and dinner?!?
Bucatini with Clam Sauce.
Yeah... I'm spoiled...