Becoming an Italian Grandmother – A New Feature

by tbraymen

I’ve made no secret of my desire to become an Italian grandmother.  Really, my desire is to cook like an Italian grandmother.  I want to have that kitchen where everybody wants to gather and where everybody leaves counting the seconds until they get in the car, take off their belts, and unbutton their pants.  I love people with food.  It’s a character flaw.  And I want to love them with really good, really comforting food.  It’s a big character flaw.

I told one of my coworkers, Tina, about my desire to be an Italian grandmother.  Tina is not only an awesome person, she’s an honest-to-goodness Italian.  Sicilian, specifically.  With an Italian passport and everything.  And she has an honest-to-goodness Italian mother and two honest-to-goodness Italian grandmothers.  She loved my plan and was nothing but encouraging.  She told her mother about my plan to become an Italian grandmother, to which her mom asked “oh, when is her first grandchild due?”  “No no,” Tina explained, “she’s nowhere near being a grandmother.  She is just doing this as a lifestyle choice.”  By Tina’s account, the hysterical laughter from her mother lasted several minutes.

To be clear, I’m 32.  There is no chance of me becoming a grandmother for a long long time, as my only child is 3.  And I’m not the least bit Italian.  My mother is a genealogist, and has spent hours upon hours in the LDS libraries researching every twig on our family tree.  I assure you that not one single branch of that tree is growing olives or San Marzano tomatoes.  There is not one single drop of Italian blood in my body.  I do this because I love Italy.  I love the food, I love my visits there, and I want to get as close as I can to recreating that country’s love and comfort in my own home.

I needed a book – a big one – full of recipes and beautiful pictures.  For Mother’s Day this year, I decided to treat myself to exactly this.  I went shopping and returned home with a copy of Cook Italy by Katie Caldesi.  My goal is to cook my way through as much as I possibly can, using my CSA veggies whenever possible, and blogging the highlights and inevitable failures along the way.  So starting soon, keep your eyes peeled for a new regular feature – Becoming an Italian Grandmother!

Apple, Fennel, and Onion Pie

by tbraymen

I was flipping through my copy of I’m just Here for More Food by Alton Brown, looking for a cobbler recipe, and I stumbled across this apple, fennel, and onion pie.  As CSA luck would have it, I had all three of these things in my fridge and absolutely nothing to do with them.  I decided to give it a whirl, hoping that my onion-phobic husband would look past the title and enjoy it.  He gave it his usual “it’s ok” which is as close to high praise as you get from him.  I loved it.  It was sweet and complex in its flavors.  This would be a perfect brunch dish, or for a light dinner with a soup or salad.

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Apple, Fennel, and Onion Pie

From Alton Brown’s I’m Just Here for More Food

2 c AP Flour

1 1/2 t Kosher salt

1 t fresh ground black pepper

1/2 c Parmesan cheese

8 T (1 stick) unsalted butter + more for brushing

1/4 c cold water

1 T Grainy mustard

1 apple

1 fennel bulb

1 small onion (I used spring onions because that’s what we got – they were very mild, which worked well here)

1 t fresh thyme

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a food processor, or working by hand, mix together the flour, salt, pepper, and cheese.  Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Slowly dribble in the water a splash at a time until the dough just holds together when you grab a handful in your fist.  Turn out onto a lightly floured counter top and roll the dough into a rough circle until the dough is 1/4″ inch thick.

Carefully drape the dough over the rolling pin and transfer the circle to a baking sheet.

Peel, core, and slice the apple into 1/4″ wedges.  Core and slice the fennel into 1/4″ wedges.  Cut the onion into 1/4″ wedges as well.  Toss these together in a bowl and sprinkle on the thyme.  Spread the mustard in a circle in the center of the pie crust.  Carefully mound the vegetables on top of the mustard.  Fold the excess crust over the filling, working in a circle until the entire pie is covered.  Brush with additional melted butter.  Bake 50-55 minutes or until the crust is golden and the filling is soft.

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Garlic Soup with Poached Eggs and Croutons

by tbraymen

I’ve been channeling my inner Julia again.  Mastering the Art of French Cooking is out and about and getting progressively more dog-eared on my counter.  When flipping through looking for some sauce or something, I stumbled across a recipe for Aigo Bouido Soupe a l’Oeuf, Provencale, or garlic soup with poached eggs.  We just received a big batch of fresh garlic in the box, only this was not the dried and cured garlic you’re used to seeing in the grocery.  This was a big bunch of young, green garlic with the greens still attached.  I figured why not feature it in a a special soup all to itself?  This seemed perfect, so I decided to give it a shot.

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And you know what?  It was perfect.  It was incredibly delicious.  Not the least bit garlicy, like you’d think a garlic soup would be.  It was flavorful and complex and the perfect light dinner on a Sunday evening.  My husband, who is usually anti-broth soups went back for seconds and thirds until the pot was empty.  In reality, with the eggs and the croutons, it wasn’t very soupy at all.  The croutons sopped up all the broth, making them into this delicious porridge consistency.

After the husband ate his final helping, I asked “so what did you think?”  “It’s very…very French.“  I giggled.  “I feel like it should have been at the beginning of a 7 course dinner on Downton Abbey.  I was seriously under-dressed to eat this.  And I need a staff of footmen.”  It’s a easy dish that feels very fancy for some reason.  If you love garlic, and who doesn’t (vampires?), this is an amazing dish.

Garlic Soup with Poached EggsFrom the 2010 edition of Mastering the Art of French Cooking

Says it serves 6-8, as a main course, I would say half that many

1 head separated, or 16 cloves whole garlic

2 quarts water

2 t salt

pinch pepper

2 cloves

1/4 t sage

1/4 t thyme

1/2 bay leaf

4 sprigs parsley plus more for garnish

3 T olive oil plus more for brushing

6 very fresh eggs

1 fresh baguette

Bring a small pot of water to boil.  Drop the garlic cloves in the water and boil for 30 seconds.  Drain, shock in cold water, and peel.

Place the peeled garlic, 2 qt water, salt, pepper, spices, and olive oil in a wide saucepan.  Boil slowly for 30 minutes.  Adjust salt and pepper as needed after cooking.

While the soup is cooking, preheat the oven to 325.  Slice the baguette into 3/4 to 1″ slices.  Arrange the slices in a single layer on a baking sheet.  Brush both sides of the bread with a good olive oil.  Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until crispy but not browned.

After the soup has simmered for 1/2 an hour, strain it through a sieve into a bowl.  Press the garlic cloves to get all the extra juice out.  Return to the saucepan and bring to a simmer.  Carefully ease the eggs, one at a time, into the simmering soup to poach.  Depending on the size of your pan, you may poach 2 or 3 at a time.  Poach the eggs for about 4 minutes, then using a slotted spoon, remove them to a waiting plate.

Arrange 2-3 croutons in the bottom of a soup bowl.  Carefully put 1 or 2 poached eggs on top of the croutons.  Spoon about a cup of the soup over the eggs.  Garnish with additional parsley.  A sprinkle of parmesan would probably be a delicious addition.

Tortellini Gratinata with Mushrooms and Parsnip Bechamel

by tbraymen

We got parsnips this week.  This is the first time we’ve ever received these veggies.  They’re not a very popular vegetable here in America, though they’re extremely popular in Europe.  They basically look like white carrots and can be used in much the same way as their orange cousins.  When I went trolling for a recipe for our parsnips, I ran into this one on Epicurious.com.  It’s complicated, but not difficult.  I like that it replaced some of the butter and cream of a traditional bechamel with the parsnip puree.

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I prepared the recipe almost exactly as the website spells out, hence I’m not reposting the recipe here.  It’s not fast, but it’s really good and yields a ton of left overs.  The only changes I did make were:

  • I didn’t have whole milk, so I used 1 1/2 c skim milk and 1 c cream
  • I didn’t have a full 12 oz of parsnips from our box, so I supplemented the last 4 oz with carrots.  I had a couple extra carrots, too, so I diced them and sauteed them with the mushrooms
  • I didn’t have Gorgonzola dolce, so I used regular old mega-mart Gorgonzola with no ill effects
  • I didn’t have rosemary, so I substituted 1/4 c fresh minced parsley.

I know that’s a lot of “I didn’t haves” but that’s the important lesson to learn when you get a CSA box.  You often won’t get enough of some vegetable, or you’ll get piles and piles of another.  You won’t get the herb you want, but you’ll get plenty of another.  The key is to roll with the punches.  Don’t get too hung up on the exact measurements and ingredients and learn what can be substituted easily.  Once you release yourself from the “have to haves…” it’s so much easier to live with the “didn’t haves…”

Beet Gnocchi

by tbraymen

If you think you can sell beet pasta to your three year-old on the basis that it’s pink, you will probably be wrong.  But if you want to use your CSA beets in a new and interesting way, this is for you.  When I set out to make the gnocchi, I was put off by the idea of having to roll and cut all those pieces of pasta.  But when I made this dough, I realized it was soft enough to pipe directly into the boiling water.  That shaved at least an hour off the total prep time.

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Beet Gnocchi

2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1″ cubes

3 medium beets (about 8 oz), peeled and cut into 1/2″ cubes

2 whole eggs

1 t kosher salt

pepper

1 1/2 to 2 1/2 c AP flour

Browned butter and grated cheese for serving

Boil the potatoes in salted water until they are tender and easily mashed.  Set aside.  Separately, steam the beets until they are also fork tender – about 20-30 minutes.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil.  Meanwhile build the pasta dough.

Combine the cooked beets and potatoes in the bowl of a food processor.  Pulse, scraping frequently, until they are very smooth.  Add the two eggs and continue to pulse and scrape until very smooth.  Add salt and pepper.  Add 1 c of flour a quarter cup at a time, pulsing for about 10 seconds after each addition.  At this point, the dough should be starting to form and stick.  Turn the dough out onto a floured counter and knead in another 1/2 c of flour.  The dough should be the consistency of very soft bread dough.  It should hold its shape just barely enough to be rolled into ropes.  Add additional flour, 1/4 c at a time, until the dough is this consistency.  It should not be too firm, or you will not be able to pipe it.

Fit a very large (1/2″ to 1″) star or round tip onto a 16″ or larger piping bag.  If you don’t have a star tip or piping bag, you can cut the corner off a gallon sized plastic zip-top bag for the same effect.  Spoon the dough into the piping bag.  Hold the piping bag with one hand and a small paring knife with another.  Working over the pot of boiling water, squeeze about 1″ of dough out and cut it off with the paring knife.  Continue working until you’ve cut about 20-30 pieces into the water.  The gnocchi are done when they are all floating – about 2-3 minutes.  Scoop the gnocchi out with a slotted spoon into a serving bowl.  Continue working in batches until all the gnocchi are prepared.

Serve warm drizzled with browned butter and grated cheese.

Serves 4.

 

Golden Beet Soft Pretzels

by tbraymen

Settle in, folks.  We’re about to make internet history!

Story #1:

A few months ago, our grocery store had these pretzel rolls.  They were delicious.  Simple and chewy and amazing for meatball subs.  We ate them for two weeks straight, then they disappeared from the store never to be seen again.  We lamented their loss until earlier this week when I said “you know, I could probably make those.”  Having today off work, I decided to mix up some bread and try my hand at making pretzel rolls myself.  Pretzel bread is really easy – take your normal bread and boil it briefly in a baking soda and water solution before baking.

Story #2:

Two weeks ago I baked some fresh beet bread.  It was a simple yeast bread with a puree of beet added.  It was earthy and delicious and my daughter ate it up because it was bright pink.  I had ever intention of recording it for our good readers’ pleasure, but it was SO good that we ate the entire loaf before I could snap a few photos.  Having today off work, and having several bunches of beets in the fridge from the past couple boxes, I figured I’d bake a new loaf to blog.

The Convergence:

So there I was today in my kitchen.  Both my pretzel roll dough and my beet dough were nearly done with their first rise.  I had placed the water on to boil for the pretzels.  The oven was hot and ready.  And in the madness that was my kitchen at that moment (a separate story all together) I stopped.  I looked at the pretzel dough…then I looked at the beet bread dough…back at the pretzel dough…back at the beet bread dough…then at the boiling water.  If pretzels are just bread boiled before baking…then what would stop me from making beet pretzels?  NOTHING.  That’s what.  And thus Beet Pretzels were born!!  I’m taking credit for this one, too.  I can’t even find a recipe on the internet for beet pretzels.  And if you can’t find it on the internet, it doesn’t exist.

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I baked these in a roll form so we could use them to make meatball subs, but the recipe would not change in the slightest if you wanted to make them into traditional pretzel shapes or rods or whatever other shape you can think of.  I used golden beets, hence the yellow hue.  Any beets would fit the bill, though.

Golden Beet Soft Pretzels

About 8-10 oz raw beets, peeled and trimmed of tops

1/2 c milk or plain yogurt

3/4 c warm (not hot) water

1 envelope active dry yeast (2 1/4 t)

1 t sugar

4 c flour (bread or AP) plus more for dusting

2 T olive oil

2 t salt

6 c water

1/4 c baking soda

Start by making the beet puree.  Pulse the beets in a food processor until they are as smooth as you can get them.  Add the yogurt or milk and continue pulsing and scraping until the mixture is as smooth as you can get it.  It will not get creamy, just get it as smooth as possible.

In a small bowl, combine the warm water, yeast, and sugar.  Set aside for about 5 minutes, or until the yeast is frothy.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the beet puree, yeast mixture, flour, oil, and salt.  Knead with the dough hook until the dough is smooth and elastic (6-8 minutes).  Shape into a smooth ball and place the ball in an oiled bowl.  Cover with a clean cloth and set in a warm place until the dough roughly doubles in size – 30-45 minutes, depending on your environment.

Punch the dough down and knead on a lightly floured surface about 10 times, until the dough is smooth.  Divide into your desired shape and size.  In the case of hoagie rolls, divide into 6 logs about 6″ long.  Score the tops of the rolls about 1/4″ deep and arrange on a parchment covered baking sheet that has been lightly oiled or dusted with cornmeal.  Let the dough rise a second time until nearly doubled in size – about 15 minutes.  This is about the exact amount of time it will take to boil the water and preheat the oven.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Bring 6 cups of water to a rolling boil in a wide pot.

When the water is boiling, add 1/4 c baking soda.  The water will foam up quite a bit but then the bubbles will subside.  Working in batches, carefully drop in each roll.  Boil for 30 seconds, flip, and boil for another 30 seconds.  Remove with a slotted spoon and return to the parchment covered baking sheet.  When all the pretzels have been boiled, bake for 20 minutes or until the rolls sound hollow when tapped.  The baking time will vary significantly based on how large or small your pretzels are.

What’s for dinner: Whenever

by missmichelann
Fettuccini with Leeks and Bacon

Fettuccine with Leeks and Bacon

I’ve lost track of the days. Last weekend was my daughter’s 3rd birthday party and this week has just kind of disappeared. I keep taking pictures of stuff and then forgetting to write about it. So here’s a few that were worth noting.

Above, my not as lovely version of Framed Cooks’ Fettuccine with Leeks and Bacon. I think I got the water/cream proportions wrong, or overcooked it. It was still quite tasty, but I think next time I’ll do half and half instead. On the side, my focaccia with some extra toasted garlic on top. A lot of this week’s meals were about ways to use up focaccia.

Roasted salmon and sweet potatoes. Csaforthree.com

Roasted Salmon with Sweet Potatoes

This is a quick pan roast – about 1 lb of salmon, just seasoned with a little bit of salt and some Meyer lemon rind. The sweet potatoes and onions are cut up super quick with my mandoline, and tossed with olive oil, a little salt, and pepper. I made it for my daughter’s birthday because she loves salmon and she refused to eat any. Typical.

Breakfast sandwich

Focaccia Breakfast Sandwich

This is what’s for breakfast, clearly. A cup of cafe au lait (with actual sugar, because this was party day and I was going to be damned if I didn’t eat some of Tiffany’s amazing cake), and a chunk of focaccia sliced in half with a slice of smoked gouda, a scrambled egg, and a slice of bacon broken in half. Nothing wrong with that.

Bonus photo and plug:

The birthday girl and her Sweet Potato and Cream Cheese Cowgirl Cake from Sugar Coated.

The birthday girl and her Sweet Potato and Cream Cheese Cowgirl Cake from Sugar Coated.

You may or may not know that my blogging partner, Tiffany, is a pastry chef who has her own catering business. She is insanely talented and her cakes are delicious and beautiful. Obviously she had a happy customer!