there was a little birthday gathering at my house last night for one of my very closest friends.  after considering a pasta dish that i’ve been dying to make (happening late next week due to a special order ingredient), i decided to do pizzas - with skewered tiger shrimp and spicy chorizo to kick it all off, and homemade blueberry cake and ’sweet cream’ ice cream to wind it all down.  there was also going to be my simple but perfect toss of romaine, walnut oil, garlic and guerende salt - but quite honestly by the time i went to throw it together, no one cared.  i mean, i did ask.  but everyone was too busy jamming crusty hot triangles of melty cheesy goodness into their mouths to think about anything like salad.  so we sat in my kitchen with no less than 3 ovens set to 500+ degrees on a very balmy hot july night, the a/c barely able to penetrate the heat - and we ate pizza - 3 ways. 

yukon gold potato, pancetta and taleggio
(with parmigiano, rosemary and thyme)
gorgonzola, pear and arugula
(with parmigiano and cracked black pepper)
fresh mozzarella, heirloom tomato and basil leaves
(with - parmigiano…)

pre pancetta and parmigiano

this pancetta?  eaten raw it is equally sublime… go lardo.

gorgonzola and pear - pre-arugula

just absolutely excellent…

 
it’s total pizza porn, i know…

the inspiration and the recipe source for the ‘potato taleggio pancetta’ pizza came from ’dolce & nutella‘.  i love this blog.  LOVE this blog.  it’s smart - and beautiful on many levels and i think she’s a wonderful writer.  there’s even a 4 part series on gelataria’s in rome (start here) - which is certainly the most definitive, if not exhaustive piece on the subject. 

the pancetta was a generous gift from ‘on the kitchen steps‘.  this blogger has threatened to salt, cure and smoke his way through ruhlman’s ‘charcuterie‘, and the recipe came straight from those hallowed pages.  the final product was, as one might expect - excellent.  it did the pizza proud. 

the starter of the evening, the colossal tiger shrimp (whole foods - 15 shrimp for $35 - and actually worth the money) were meaty and flavorful, skewered alongside some very good chorizo.  the idea for this wonderful combo was brought to my attention by kalofagas.  i didn’t skewer them all nestled together and cozy like he did (rush rush) but damn, they were good.

now, i know what you’re all wanting to ask me.  and i absolutely refuse to have any serious guilt over not making my own pizza dough, especially since i can make a pretty fine version that’s been meticulously researched and honed over the years.  but since you are relentlessly insisting on full disclosure, i bought my dough in a refrigerated baggy from PUBLIX.  ok?  are you happy?  dear readers, i am only one woman.  and i had shopping to do, a cake to bake and prep work and well, i don’t get started until at least 11 am most mornings.  so something had to give.  and it was the dough.  which was a solid B. 

but - the pizza dough used for the margarita pie was made by my friend, brad.  his wife joanna brought some over from their freezer stash and it was quite good.  i think.  because that pizza was the last from the oven.  and by then a few bottles of wine had been downed and i had eaten my way past the point of diminishing returns - with dessert on the horizon.  still, brad’s a fine cook so i trust that his dough was far superior to the supermarket version… or was it?

happy birthday rick. 
i absolutely adore you both in and out of the kitchen…

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after 6 weeks of being away from my kitchen, i finally got to throw a dinner together.  something simple and quick - something light and fresh.  scallops are a favorite and a red pepper sauce pairing makes an effortless and classic dish. 

into the vita-mix went:

a roasted red pepper - blackened, peeled, seeded
small clove of garlic
smoked salt
cayenne pepper
balsamic syrup
lemon infused extra virgin olive oil

searing scallops is a favorite culinary task of mine.  i fought with them for awhile, trying to achieve the perfect caramelization on both sides while still having a rare center.  i use cast iron, getting the pan super hot, adding the oil and/or butter and then placing the very dry scallops into the hot pan without overcrowding.  it’s all about moisture avoidance.  also, i choose to not season my scallops as they always seem to have the right amount of salt just as they are. 

they were served over a plate of fresh baby spinach leaves with halved grape tomatoes and some pea shoot tendrils scattered about, just because.  the sauce acted as the dressing and really, it was satisfying as could be on a hot summer night. 

tonight i made broiled halibut, lightly salted and peppered with some olive oil.  i took no photos and just enjoyed the simplicity of the fish over the same spinach leaves and tomatoes - along with some of ‘karen’s hot giardiniera’, given to me by a friend who had discovered it in vermont, quite by accident.  you need to buy the 4 jars.  so just do it and then thank me.  these jars of spicy olivey goodness make amazing gifts and will be much better received than yet another bottle of oaky $14 chardonnay.  not that you’d ever show up with that…

i bring up my humble dinner tonight to not only let you in on the secret of this amazing olive spread that absolutely blew me away - but to also tell you that i am a fan of eric ripert, and because of his new blog ‘avec eric’ (thank you michael ruhlman - again) where the cuisinart brick convection toaster oven (brk-200) is flaunted as the one essential you must never ever live without… i slapped down my credit card quicksmart paying (a discounted) $200 (in turn receiving a whole 220 frequent flying miles) and i must say, not only is it a handsome devil, not unlike both eric and michael, but it’s going to be extremely handy to have around.  for one frozen bagel.  grilled tomatoes.  fish for 2, roasted chicken, a tin of 6 muffins, a small homemade pizza - the endless possibilities boggle the mind… and eric’s blog keeps showing me the simplest, freshest, healthiest ideas - all while leaving a slightly smaller carbon footprint.  i own double convection gaggenau ovens, which are totally sexy looking (kind of like both eric and michael) and wonderful around the holidays (if you’re a woman, i’m thinking what you’re thinking), but 9/10 of the time, it’s small quantities around here.  and my new cuisinart mini-oven is working like a dream…

a week from tonight i’ll be dining at alinea and 3 nights from that at charlie trotter’s.  in nyc i ate at jean georges, babbo, blaue gans, bar americain and felidia.  this time around i’d have to say my favorite was felidia - ‘jg’ losing out only due to the fact that it’s high french and i am so partial to italian. and really, felidia was just very good.  i had pear and fresh pecorino ravioli and calves liver over farro and polenta.  joe (thank you joe, again and again) sent over a wonderful bottle of wine along with octopus done 2 ways.  i was very, very happy with this food. 

and as much as i both hate and hesitate to say this, babbo was somehow a huge let down. the lambs brain ’francobolli’ was plain bad.  the goose liver ravioli was just wrong.  the rabbit and duck were just ‘ok’ - nothing to remember.  the branzino, lambs tongue and sausage plate were all excellent as was a saffron panna cotta with rhubarb.  but ‘osteria mozza’ in LA kicked ’babbo’s’ culinary ass.  again i will say, our dinner at mozza was a full fledge knock-out.  but this is why you don’t review on one meal.  i know babbo is a great restaurant.  my dinner there 9 years ago still rolls around in the food archive section of my brain.  but this time, the chef de cuisine was off and it was a long holiday weekend… so next time i’m in ny - this autumn, i hope to go back. 

i had the pleasure of meeting the brilliant, warm and witty michelle from ‘thursday night smackdown’.  she dined with me and my mother at babbo.  you need to read her take on my mom.  as one might expect from michelle, it is classic and spot on and if you have to ask, you could never understand… 

my ‘jg’ dining partner was my friend amy from minimally invasive.  she is now forced to dine with me every time i come to nyc.  we agonize over where to go.  it took us about 20 emails to get both a date and a restaurant in ink.  we were excited about jg and ordered with abandon.  nothing like a little $300 lunch… and then, believe it or not - afterwards, we took a quick trip across the street to time-warner for a macaron at bouchon bakery.

so it’s been a stream of superior food and wonderful wine… and people.  it’s all about the people.  and there’s so much more to come.  i am truly grateful beyond measure and so incredibly fortunate.  yay.

oh and thanks for reading…

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this may be the longest i’ve gone without posting - a solid 2 weeks.  it seems i’ve got a slight case of food blogger ennui.  there’s been no cooking of my own - none at all.  and really?  it’s been a welcome respite that shows no signs of waning just yet… but a woman’s got to eat and my camera is usually close by, so…

feel healthier yet?  lord knows i do. 

and do you see this salad?  this very, very big salad?  this is what i ate for 2+ weeks.  WITH NOTHING ON IT.  and dear readers, let me tell you what i’m sure you already know, that a salad such as this really begs - no, pleads - for just a touch of walnut oil and a fine sprinkling of guerende salt.  but no, i dutifully got that plate of produce down au natural with minimal whining.  and although a bit lackluster, i consoled myself with the anticipation that i’d be dining at ‘osteria mozza’ in the immediate future.

which was stellar.  sublime.  wondrous. 

damn, mario - we were blown away. the creamy burrata. the grilled to perfection octopus, the brilliant and mind blowing (hee) calves brain ravioli (thank you michael ruhlman), the tender duck with a pear mostarda… the wine, the attentive service, the dessert of bombolini with a lemon curd, along with a torta della nonna with pine nuts and honey… i took no photos during this 4 1/2 hour dinner.  i was too enraptured by the experience and just wanted to get lost in every moment - every bite.  it was one of the best food experiences i’ve had in a very long time (per se will always stand alone) and it was FUN.  we had so. much. fun. 

and tonight i’m in nyc and dinner is at babbo, osteria mozza’s sister restaurant in nyc.  interestingly, it’s a very similar menu.  i last ate at babbo 9 years ago. 

so, southern california, where everyday is nearly perfect.  i will miss you. 

but not tonight - tonight my heart belonds to mario.

in the meantime though, remember me because i will be back - soon…

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a few weeks ago i received an email:

Dear Claudia,

We are co-hosting a dinner with Joe Bastianich Thursday, at 6:30 on Thursday, June 4, at ‘City House Restaurant‘ on 4th Avenue North. The dinner will feature City House’s exceptional cuisine paired with Joe’s wonderful wines. Seating is very limited, so let us know as soon as possible if you would like to attend.

i immediately rsvp’d, yes + 1.

as you most likely know, joe bastianich’s mom is lidia of famed ‘felidia‘, and the writer of no less than 5 of some of the best italian cookbooks around.  it was lidia bastianich who was requested to cook for the pope when he was recently in nyc.  she prepared his lunch and dinner each day, some of what would have been typical dishes from his childhood in germany.  joe was his server - which he described as somewhat of an out-of-body experience… a greater honor could not have been bestowed on this italian (via croatia) - american family.

but before any of this, back in 1971, lidia and her husband opened their first restaurant, ‘buonavia’, on queens boulevard in forest hills where i grew up, about 6 blocks from our apartment on yellowstone blvd.  joe used to work there when he was a little boy and my family used to eat there as it was by far the best italian in town, kicking the competion ‘la stella’s’ culinary ass.  i remember the limos parked out front… these are kind of memories that stay with a kid.

then came ‘felidia‘ in ’81, right around the corner from my dad’s art gallery on 58th and 3rd.  and again, we ate there often.  i grew up on lidia bastianich’s cooking, so it’s no wonder that i know and love great italian food.

joe grew up to become a rock star restaurateur, opening his first restaurant, ‘becco‘ at just 23 - a menu scattered with page references to recipes in lydia’s cookbooks.  he and mario batali have been partners for 10 years now in about a dozen restaurants all over the country.  and in 2005 joe won the james beard foundation’s ‘outstanding wine and spirits professional’ award as well as bon appetit’s ‘wine and spirits professional’ at their annual american food and entertaining awards.  and just THIS month he and batali won the ‘2008 outstanding restaurateur award’ for babbo.  another huge recognition of undeniable greatness.

photo from the ulterior epicure 2007

but the best news of all is that he’s a really fine man, who speaks softly and seriously with a sense of true humbleness.  his love of wine is undeniable.  and so when he spoke of his vineyards, describing both the history and terroir of the region with an undeniable depth of knowledge and passion, i was mesmerized. 

photo from the ulterior epicure 2007

"bastianich wine dinner"

june 4. 2008

bastianich rosato 2007

***
antipasti
house cured ham
farro, radish, english peas, local greens, almond, lemon, pecorino
georgia shrimp, lemon, chilies, mint, marjoram

bastianich tocai friuliano 2006
bastianich tocai plus 2005
***
pizza
prosciutto cotto, mozzarella, oregano, chilies, egg

bastianich vespa bianco 2006
***
pasta
rigatoni, tomato, meatballs, montasio

la mozza aragone 2005
***
secondo
oven roasted goat, salsa verde

la mozza i perazzi 2006
***
cheese
hopeville tomme, blood orange marmelade
***
dolce
cookie plate - selection of southern cookies
***

so keeping an impartial palate after now meeting joe - and already wanting to love his wine, well, it was going to be tough.  but dear readers, i truly thought that what was presented that evening was outstanding and the next day i ordered a mixed case of his wine.

i sat next to joe for the first half of the dinner and we talked of food and food blogging, and songwriters and songwriting, and bourdain and batali…  and then i had to release him to the other 30 or so diners so he could work the room.

joe handed me his card and told me i could call him if i ever needed anything.  i looked at him and said, "well, what i was really hoping for was ‘babbo’ on my birthday".  and now - it is done.  the first and last time i ate there was 1999 and it was one of the better dinners i can recall.  bur it’s a tough reservation. and believe me, i have put in the phone time - trying to get in.  the week before i had even emailed the general manager, to no avail.  (by the way, babbo does have a show-up and wait to be seated policy, and i think you can eat at the bar… but it’s not a guarantee.)

and now i’m in los angeles, adhering to this painfully plain raw diet for a 3 week spell.  i wasn’t going to do any real dining out, but i am weak in the face of a batali/bastianich driven restaurant.  and so now i’ll be checking out ‘osteria mozza’ on melrose, my last night here. 

i can’t wait. 

thank you, joe…

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buddha wants you to know that even though ‘life is suffering’, drink acai

and you probably think i made that up, right?  "not just a berry, a lifestyle…" but no dear readers, it’s the actual motto from the acai roots company.  i definitely would have been so berry much more clever.

and do you see that glass being lovingly cradled by the buddha?  it contains pure potent purple goodness. what you’re looking at is an acai pulp berry smoothie that will allegedly, among other things - improve your sex drive.  it’s one of the most powerful and nutritious foods known to man, and widely acknowledged as one of the richest anti-oxidants available.  i could go on about the high levels of omega 3 and 6 as well as the amino acids, not to mention all the fiber… but i’ll leave the thorough research in your capable hands.  bottom line is that DR. OZ gives it the big thumbs up.  need i say more? 

i’ve also seen it in the drink section of ’whole foods’, being touted as the superfood to end all superfoods.  it’s as though they’re screaming the accolades of this brazilian berry across the globe.  Drink. This. NOW.

so last week, before i left for LA my friend angela gave me a big frozen container of acai pulp - the creme de la creme of acai.  blended with a banana, fresh blueberries and some ice cubes, it became a really nice spring breakfast for a few days running.

please excuse the fact that i breathed while taking this photograph without a tripod…

so, while i’m on the west coast not eating anything worth mentioning, the memory of this smoothie is actually pretty damn appealing. i plan on ordering a few containers and seeing if i notice… well, anything…

but ummm, do you think that just a little side of bacon would affect the ’sex life’ perk?

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a couple of weeks ago i came across this post the very same day that chris was coming by with his duck confit.  as soon as my eyes locked in on the recipe, i knew this was to be my promised companion salad, a guaranteed sure-fire marriage made in heaven.  the richness of the crispy duck atop some perfectly cooked lemon butter asparagus - and then this salad beside it.  beautiful.

arugula and mango salad with a white chocolate and sriracha vinaigrette
shamelessly stolen from the culinary sherpas

all i can say is that this salad had me at hello…

1 package baby arugula leaves
1 mango - sliced
1/4 cup cilantro leaves

1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 tablespoon sriracha
1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup grated best quality white chocolate
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and freshly ground pepper

in a sauce pan over medium heat, combine the sugar, orange juice, sriracha, and white wine vinegar.
stir and bring to a simmer to dissolve the sugar.
remove from heat and add the white chocolate, stirring well to melt and incorporate it into the dressing.
set aside and let cool, but do not refrigerate or the chocolate will set and become hard.
combine the arugula, cilantro, and mango in a salad bowl
whisk the olive oil into the white chocolate mixture to incorporate, season with salt and pepper, and toss well.

i highly recommend that you run-not-walk and make this salad.  it was impressive in every way.  the white chocolate is very subtle and the acidity of the vinegar breaks the cocoa butter perfectly.

today ceF is officially 1 year old. 

thanks for all your well wishes.  i would have baked you a cake, but in the name of zipping my jeans and continuing on with my plan, instead i put up a few updated pictures of myself taken last week (the very night i -ahem- had dinner with joe bastianich) and took down the younger thinner versions from last year.  after all, this ain’t match.com - if you get my drift. 

i’m just keeping it real…

so, i lift my glass of filtered water to all of you.  here’s to another 171 posts.  fyi, that’s 1,197 in dog posts.

hey, thanks for reading…

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(if i’m going to whine, ice cream is the very least i can offer…)

dear readers…  ceF is 2 days shy of turning one year old and well, i must tell you that as much fun as this is, in the short time that we’ve known each other i have recklessly and pitifully packed on some serious poundage. i have tried to be better about keeping it all in balance, but to date am failing miserably. i have tried to do all the things i know to do. but i am weak in the face of good food. 

to keep us all entertained here, i have been also trying to achieve some semblance of excellence with my cooking. ok, maybe excellence is going too far. but i am aiming high, and honestly, most of the time we’re eating pretty well here at kitchen central. but i’ve still got a lot to learn, and that means practice. and repetition. using it or losing it. and this tends to involve churning out a fair amount of food if you ever want to call yourself a cook.  and i aspire to that…

right now i’m in santa monica for 3 weeks. and guess what? i’m not going to any great restaurants or cooking. i’m in semi-radical cleansing mode drinking fresh juices and eating fruit and plain salads. as in vegan raw without the frills of nuts or seeds or oil or seasonings of any kind.  as in yes, you’re right this is not easy - and no, i don’t recommend you do this.  unless you want to. which you probably don’t. and man, i so do not blame you. because if i could find a way to eat the way i wanted to eat all the time, and not look and feel toxic, i’d be all over it.  you see, i am the quintessential plate cleaner. i love to eat and i can pack it away but good.  but i am terribly vain - and that’s a tricky combo to balance. so here i am - paying for my salty high-caloric intake.  because the fat lady has sung and it’s time to pay the piper. 

interestingly enough, the older i get the more he charges - the little flute playing bastard…

but to keep the blog fires burning, i have a few things that i recently whipped up and then stockpiled, knowing i’d be away from the kitchen.  and this is one of them.  fresh mint custard ice cream with pralus 75% chocolate.  i used david lebovitz’s recipe for the ice cream, always adding an extra egg yolk as a sacrifice to whatever god that thomas keller worships (i do believe he uses up to 12 yolks in his ice creams).  and then i went a little too heavy on the chocolate because well, one bar is 3.5 ounces and david calls for about 5 ounces (i don’t have the book with me) and i think i may have used over 1 1/2 bars.  but next time i think i’d stick to the one, as that’d be plenty. this batch was a bit heavy on the chocolate. not that it’d hurt your feelings, because the chocolate is so spectacular and plays well off the minty custard…  but still, live and learn.

the fresh mint is steeped in the warm milk/cream mixture and then the custard is made and chilled. to make the stracciatella, you add the melted chocolate in a steady stream at the very end of the churning process, keeping the chocolate away from mixing blade.  being a stracciatella making virgin, i did a so-so job… but it was really very, very awfully good. and i guess one day i will have to try again. and again. but not for a little while.

my inner child had hoped for the ice cream to be a bit on the greener side - but when thinking about the steeping/straining process, it seemed unlikely that the leaves would give up much color. but david had promised an emerald hue and dear readers, that just was not happening. also and for the record, i’m not a huge mint fan. and now i know why. because most mint things that we buy are made with some kind of extract that is way not my thing. this ice cream was minty, but subtle. it tasted real, because it was.

and i’ll be posting here and there, but for now, i’ve gone west to where the ‘beautiful people’ are. to where you are pretty much always - comparatively speaking (to like, anywhere) - too fat, too old and too poor.  i kind of never "got" LA but i want to.  and i am willing to love LA - if it will let me.  i will hang by the beach and soak up the califiornia vibe and then i am back to nashville for a night, only to take off the next day to nyc to do my usual thing - which totally revolves around food.  and as one might imagine based on my last trip home, i am still going to dine quite well. and so this is when i will get to practice balance. and then i get to practice even more balance a week later in chicago at alinea and trotter’s.

so, it’s looking like if all goes well i will be one helluva balanced woman come july.  and then i will throw a party and invite you and i will make this mint stracciatella for everyone and only eat one scoop.

which brings us back to all of you summer loving, ice cream eating people out there.  why not go and make yourself this minty custardy ice cream?  it is truly wonderful.  the recipe is in david’s book and if you’re an ice cream aficionado and don’t own it, i urge you to get it.

and oh by the way - if there is a next life? 

i am so coming back as a person with the metabolism of a hummingbird…

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or more accurately, peanut butter noodles. but the dish is still much better known as "noodles in sesame sauce" and usually ‘cold’, at that.  at least in nyc where i lived on it for the better part of my early 20’s. and even though i’ve seen a few versions that use roasted tahini, the peanut butter version just works so well on every level that it’s what i do, because it is quite frankly - an absolute and total winner. and everybody loves a winner… yessiree.

anyway, this dish had been on my mind since i saw it over at smitten kitchen and then recently again at kalyn’s, where she used whole wheat noodles. i think the earthiness of the ww pasta lends itself perfectly to this dish.  my version is an adaption of both of those, leaning more towards the ‘gourmet’ recipe from june 2002

peanut sesame noodles
adapted from gourmet, june 2002

i totally blanked on the sesame seeds, which is too bad because i have the black ones sitting right in my kitchen and they’re both a great looking garnish and tasty.  so try to use your imagination, ok? 

1/2 cup smooth organic peanut butter
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup warm water
2 tablespoon chopped peeled fresh ginger
2 medium garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoon brown sugar or honey or agave
1 tablespoon sriracha chili sauce - or to taste

1 lb whole wheat thin spaghetti
1 orange or red bell pepper, cut into 1/8-inch-thick strips
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1/8-inch-thick strips
1 cucumber, seeded and cut into 1/8-inch-thick strips
1 cup of snow peas
4 scallions, thinly sliced
chopped cilantro
3 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
1 lb of shrimp or chicken or beef or pork belly! or tofu

mix all the ingredients for the sauce in a strong blender, set aside
put water on to boil for noodles
slice the cucumbers and bell peppers into long thin strips
slice the scallions and chop the cilantro

if you’re using shrimp, skewer and grill.  if you’re using another protein, i trust that you will figure it all out just fine…

one minute before the pasta is ready, throw the snow peas into the pasta water.
drain and toss with the sauce, serve immediately garnished with the vegetables and make it all look pretty,
  

because you’re good enough, you’re smart enough and doggone it people like you…

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i present to you "the mangosteen".  the mango’s jewish half cousin.  ok, actually, there’s no relation whatsoever.  and if there is, the newly-outed, anti-semitic mango is not owning up. 

the mangosteen is typically advertised and marketed as part of an emerging category of novel "functional fruits" sometimes called "superfruits" presumed to have a combination of 1) appealing subjective characteristics, such as taste, fragrance and visual qualities, 2)nutrient richness, 3)antioxidant strength and 4) potential impact for lowering risk against human diseases.  i stole that entire line from wikipedia and promise to return it the moment you finish this sentence.

oh, but you know how it can be… you read about some foodstuff… and then you start hearing more… and then it escalates into raves… and of course, said item is often both hard to come by - and expensive… and that’s usually about when i place my order. 

but how could you blame me?  the final straw came just as i happened upon a post over at ’serious eats’ entitled "Delicious Mangosteens: Better Than A Hot Fudge Sundae?"  I mean talk about roping in an already food obsessed person who constantly FRETS about her weight.  i could even say that those words were borderline seduction.  so being the susceptible woman that i am, armed with a newly received tax return in the bank, and an american express card in my wallet - not to mention a perpetual hankering for ice cream despite an ever expanding waistline, i was all about buying these fruits of the mercenary gods.

the case was overnighted from (guess…) california and arrived still cool at my doorstep the next morning.  no matter what you might think from the pics, they’re small.  like about the size of a clementine.  i got 10.  which with shipping averaged them out at about $7 each.  which would have been ok because i was WILLING to go there.  i just wanted to be wow’ed.  i wanted to be the cyber messenger of the mangosteen.

but alas, i am here to say - save your money, kids.  they’re good.  but…

they’re not ’toe scrunching’ good. 

they’re not ‘i have to call my best friend’ good.  nor are they ’i feel good about spending the money’ good. 

and definitely not ’i'll take these over sex’ good. 

 is anything that good?

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and if i wanted to sleep with you, it’d be ’torcetti con salsa di noci e funghi’.  but being that we’re all platonic here, i thought i’d keep it to the english since i hit you so hard in my last post with my γαλακτομπούρεκο. 

i’m forever browsing blogs, looking for inspiration - and this dish caught my eye while catching up with the folks from ‘we are never full’.  it’s a site full of exuberance and passion - they take their food very seriously and it shows.  the pasta sauce, from genoa, is a recreation of yet another wonderful dish from their extensive travels through italy.

again, i’m a big fan of simplicity and so that’s where my sensibilities tend to lead me.  this was the primi course for a small dinner party, followed by a secundo of grass-fed grilled to perfection ribeye, along with a basic green salad of romaine and arugula with grape tomatoes.  so yes, perhaps simple, but a wonderful dinner.

the pasta dish suffers somewhat from the innocousness of its beige colorway.  but apart from that, it’s quite good.  having said this, let me share my initial resistance, which was that the walnut texture in the sauce, was for me a minor distraction. but it seems i was alone in this assessment.  and everyone else was raving.

but you see, the thing is (and here’s a dirty little secret), in my mind, my opinion - when it comes to food - outweighs any number of other opinions at the table.  so i’m not sure if this pasta is a do-over for me.  my gauge is this: if i were in a very good restaurant, would i flip over this?  and then i know…

soak two pieces of crustless, white bread in some of the cream so it soaks it all up.

put the salted pasta water on to boil

in a pan, add your sliced mushrooms along with some olive oil or a pat of butter and sauté until firm-soft.

process the walnuts until fine, then add and blend all the rest of the ingredients together : the milk-soaked bread, the cheese and cream, along with a pinch of salt to taste.

add your pasta to the boiling water and cook till al dente.

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it’s called galaktoboureko, and the moment i laid my eyes on this post from peter at kalofagas, the recipe went directly onto the short list.  because this is what i dream of. not fame, nor fortune, but a big, thick wad of not overly rich, smooth and creamy custard.  and no one pulls this off like the greeks.  and from the sound of it, peter is about as greek as a man can get.

so i ventured off into the esoteric world of one worded six syllable desserts.  and it was all good, except for this one thing.  and let me sum it up for you in two words.

phuck phyllo.

because i gotta say, the whole phyllo aspect of this dish was not pretty.  we wrestled.  we wrangled.  and then i resorted to swearing at the pastry.  i mean, did you hear that?  i swore at store bought pastry.  repeatedly.  how phuking ridiculous is that?

now, i can totally understand hating ‘from scratch’ pastry - my #1 culinary nemesis.  because ‘from scratch’ pastry is beyond hateable.  even if you get it to look right, it’s NEVER flakey and delicious.  ever.  i see all you food bloggers at thanksgiving making pie after pie with your helpful hint after hint.  but i’m bold enough to say, i’m not buying it.  i happen to know that truly excellent pastry skills soley relies on the baker having a rare and defomed dna gene.  

so anyway,  this should have gone smoothly and did not, and is therefore the perfect example of why i should never touch pastry of any kind.  and yes, i bought the best i could find.  and yes i let it thaw properly.  but it stuck togther in spots and broke to pieces in others.  and i was not having any fun.  not even a little.  and just for yucks, you really should have seen my kitchen floor.  it looked like a ticker tape parade had just come through. 

but i will say two things about it all.  first and foremost - in the end, i was victorious.  and secondly - raw phyllo with butter shmeared all over it is strangely delicious…

it looked so promising… as though this would be a pastry walk in the park… but nooooo…

the custard - cooling off while hurting no one’s feelings, unlike the phyllo

Galaktoboureko (γαλακτομπούρεκο)
recipe from kalofagas

the only minor change i made was to add salt to the syrup and i also added some orange blossom water because it was right in front of me and in that moment i figured it would add that certain je ne sais quoi (which i wish i could say in greek but the only greek i speak is menu - and the word opa!).  if i were to make this again, which is tempting i would definitely add both those ingredients to the syrup.  that’s how good i am at this. but besides that, i changed nothing.  it’s a great recipe.  thanks peter.  oh, and phuck phyllo.  amen.

7 eggs, room temp.
10 cups of whole milk (room temp.)
2 cups of sugar
1 cup of fine semolina flour
1 heaping Tbsp. of butter
zest of 1 lemon
1 package of commercial phyllo
2 sticks of melted butter (for brushing)
14" X 11" Corningware baking dish

Syrup
2 cups of sugar
1 cup of water
juice & zest of 1/2 lemon
1/2 tspn of salt
2 Tbls of orange blossom water (optional)

Place a large pot over medium-high heat and add your eggs, sugar and semolina and mix constantly over medium heat until incorporated.

Add the milk, zest and butter and now continue to mix using a potato masher until your custard is slightly thick, yet not runny. Place a tea towel between the pot of custard and the pot’s lid, cover and reserve (off the heat).

Pre-heat your oven to 350F. Butter the baking dish. Count how many sheets you have in your package of phyllo and divide in half. One half will go on the bottom, the second half will go on top.

In the bottom of the pan, layer your one half of phyllo, leaving the edges hanging over the sides of the pan. Brush each sheet generously with the melted butter. Pour the custard mixture over the bottom phyllo layers.

Fold the excess phyllo over and into the pan and evenly distribute the remaining sheets of phyllo to entirely cover the custard. Again, ensure that each sheet is brished generously with butter.

With a very sharp knife, score the phyllo (just penetrating) to make your desired size and shapes of your Galaktoboureko pieces (this makes it easier to cut later and this will also allow the syrup to penetrate the pie better.

Bake in the middle rack for 35-40 minutes or until the top is nice and golden-brown. Allow the Galaktoboureko to cool to room temperature.

To make your syrup, add the sugar, water, juice, salt and zest and bring to a boil and count 10 minutes for your syrup to develop.  stir in orange blossom water.

Using a ladle, pour your syrup over the Galaktoboureko (1 ladle at a time) until your syrup has been absorbed.

Carefully complete the slicing of your pieces (tracing your initial cuts), allow to cool for approx. 1 hour and refrigerate uncovered over night to set. Serve cold or room temperature.

photogenic little number

the only catch was, i made the galaktabouriko that day - for that night.  i neglected to read the directions to the end, as in "refridgerate uncovered overnight".  oops.  it stayed pretty hot right out of the oven (this pan weighs a ton as it’s loaded with custard) but finally at 5:30 after cooling for about an hour or so, i threw it in the refrigerator, despite my fears of every meat and dairy product i owned spoiling, and by 9 pm when i cut into it, it was pretty firm and held together nicely,  but yes, it was better the next day.  and the next day.  and even the next.  it makes 16 large pieces.  and i never got tired of it. 

and suddenly while looking at this photo, i am desperately longing for more γαλακτομπούρεκο…

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when i first read this recipe in ‘molto italiano’, batali’s introductory words to the dish included the sentence, "as i get older i am liking simpler things - based on the best ingredients", the letters jumped off the page and italian-kissed me firmly on the lips - with feeling.  and then i fell in love with mario all over again, and i knew this dish would be mine.  because i suppose i can’t have mario.  not that i think i’d necessarily want mario - although he sure would be one helluva entertaining guy to be around on a regular basis.  and breakfast in bed would surely rock… that is if cary would just move over a smidge.

but getting back to reality, you look at this ingredient list and the way it all comes together and the next thing you know, you’re thinking, not only can i make this with ease, but i will be a rock star.  maybe not in the bono category but definitely, michael stipes.

.
(these rolls are too close together, which is another way of saying i made a mistake…)

except for one thing.  because if you think that skewering the rosemary through these babies (how true a word if there ever was one) was easy, you are so wrong that you don’t even know how wrong you are. and for the record, this rosemary was not of the flimsy kind.  it was branchy rosemary.  and still the rolls needed to first get punctured with metal skewers - and only then could the rosemary travel the distance.  mario fails to mention this, probably because either he’s not the skewer’er and/or the veal from my calf could’ve kicked the veal from his calf’s ass.  i’m telling you, we had some seemingly tough veal.  because i swear we pounded the meat as thin as could be, but once they’re all rolled up… well, all i’m saying is that until we arrived at a viable technique it was a struggle - and i don’t think that in the end, it even imparted much flavor.  it was just a cool presentation factor…

but - that’s all merely a technical difficulty, right?  the true integrity of this dish was not breached in any way. 

involtini alla siciliana
adapted from ‘molte italiano’ by mario batali

i made the executive decision to toast the pine nuts.  mario, does not mention this at all.  listen to mario or listen to me.  the choice is yours.  this is america and you are a free citiizen, although probably in debt.

8 slices veal top round, about 4 oz each
1 cup freshly grated pecorino romano
1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
1/2 cup finely chopped italian parsley
1/4 cup pine nuts - toasted
1/4 cup dried currants soaked in warm water 1 hour, drained
8 sprigs of woody rosemary about 5 inches long
salt, pepper, extra virgin olive oil

preheat the grill
using a mallet, pound each slice of veal between 2 oiled pieces of tin foil to 1/16", careful not to tear the meat
lay each piece out on a work surface
in a medium bowl, stir together the pecorino, bread crumbs, parsley, pine nuts and currants
season the meat and divide the mixture among the veal, spreading it out thinly
roll each piece up tightly, starting from a short side and secure with toothpicks
lay 2 veal rolls side by side, about 1/2" apart and skewer with the rosemary
repeat to make 3 more sets of veal
season with salt and pepper and brush with olive oil
grill turning once for 3 to 4 minutes a side until nicely charred but still medium
serve immediately with something green

it’s a great dinner party dish. assemble earlier in the day and then grill quickly just before everyone sits down.  i served the veal rolls with grilled lemony, garlicky asparagus. it was an overall hit, but you know how it goes in the world of blogging… doubtful to ever be seen again.

onwards…

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there are times when the mere thought of whipping up a dinner is just more than i can bear.  and although you may have guessed this about me, the act of cooking  - just being in my kitchen and creating something delicious - is in my world, one of life’s most wondrous pleasures. 

but still…

instead of a full blown production including a trip to ‘whole foods’, there are those times that dinner begins with a simple charcuterie plate. these days it’s mostly all about d’artganan’s saucisson sec and duck prosciutto. but i’ve also become somewhat enamored  with this smoked liverwurst - and with an exceptional cheese or two and some white truffle honey - coupled with the latest greatest cracker find, what more could you ever ask for?  oh, except these crazy olives that i somehow fell upon last year… i urge you to try them.  they are meaty and addictive and most definitely unique

or maybe instead,  a bowl of some interesting artisan pasta with some amazing olive oil and the best parmegiano you can lay your hands upon, grated liberally with perhaps an anchovy or two thrown in with some very finely minced garlic.  or that same pasta with a tin of really amazing smoked piquillo peppers stuffed with tuna, the can thrown into the boiling pasta water to heat.  i’d happily take either of these alongside my favorite salad of romaine, arugula, walnut oil and - well, the best salt that you can lay your hands upon…  it’s all about the pantry, people.  it’s the power of the pantry.

i look forward to these simple dinners more than you might expect.  they are borne of the immediate options at hand, with the added bonus of a light cleanup, all the more reason that they most definitely have their place within a life that is sometimes a bit too busy, sometimes a bit too lazy - often numbering a few times a week around here. 

but, quite honestly, another aspect that motivates me is that i’m perpetually curious about what extraordinary products exist in the universe.  and it can be overwhelming.  so much great food, so little time… the grocery bill goes relentlessly over budget, guiltlessly spilling into the restaurant allowance.  as it should…

recently we had a pantry dinner and afterwards, i was craving something sweet.  so i dug deep into the ‘way back’ - and came up with some italian organic candied orange peel and a bar of pralus single note chocolate.  nothing unusual.  nothing complicated.  but for me, it’s as good as nearly anything…

i may not be jetting off to europe this spring, but my pantry is quite the culinary wonderland.  and you know, i feel pretty damn good about it all…

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i’m a book buyer.  which doesn’t necessarily mean that i’m always a book reader.  of course each book is carefully chosen with varying degrees of hope, excitement and promise, and the contents of my cyber cart are always just one quick click away from being all mine…  but then the books arrive only to be relegated to any number of stacks or shelves throughout my home.  and from there the books taunt me, filling me with guilt, making me once again realize that they have yet to fulfill their destiny.  and destiny is big….

so yesterday morning the latest book hit my doorstep. i don’t recall how or even why i’d heard about this one, but i had, for some good reason, sought it out - and now here we were, together.  but this time, instead of adding it to the closest pile, i immediately opened to a random page and began to flip through, until my eyes rested upon what was to become - dinner.  smiling, i grabbed the scallops and bacon from the freezer and jotted down the word ‘watercress’ on my days shopping list.  this was going to be magically delicious and made in 15 minutes - tops.

the book is called ’secret ingredients - the magical process of combining flavors’ by michael roberts.  and the more i read about mr. roberts, who died an untimely death 3 years ago, the more i like him.  in his ny times obituary he is noted as "a restaurateur and chef whose playful and astonishingly successful marriages of preposterous ingredients helped forge the California culinary revolution of the 1980’s".  he was a risk taker when it came to flavor.  and i happen to like that in a guy.  he writes of flavor marriages as in ’sherry and brandy’ and ‘chili and curry’, and of flavor oppositions such as ‘apples and cheese’ and ’salt and sugar’ or ’sugar and vinegar’, and from there he discusses flavor juxtaposition - as in garlic masking the bitterness of rosemary but allowing the herbalness to come through. or cocktail sauce, unfolding in layers, first the tomato and then the horseradish - married by the lemon…

i haven’t read a novel in too long because lately, i just get lost in this kind of thing.  when i’m reading about food i am focused.  pennies drop.  i proverbially clap out loud and gasp and nod and moan and laugh.  food just entertains the hell outa me.  better than fast cars, heroin or sky diving, i suppose.

warm scallop and watercress salad with bacon vinaigrette
adapted from ’secret ingredients’ by michael roberts

i opted to not leave the bacon fat in the dish and reflected this in my adaptation.  it just seemed so pointless, but it’s your life and you can drink bacon grease all day long.  choosing longevity, i decided to use more grapeseed oil and drain the pig fat.  i also upped the apple slices just because..

2 bunches of watercress
1 medium granny smith apple
lemon juice to keep the apple slices from oxidizing
1/2 cup salad oil (i like grapeseed for this)
3/4 lb bacon cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 lb sea scallops
2 T finely minced shallots
2/3 cup sherry vinegar

mound the watercress leaves onto 4 plates
core the apple without peeling, cut into quarters and slice thin
sprinkle with the lemon juice
arrange the apples around the watercress - set aside
add bacon to a 9 or 10 inch cold skillet - sauté over medium heat 4 minutes
drain most of the bacon fat from the pan and add scallops, searing until brown on each side
be sure they stay rare in the center
add the shallots and vinegar and cook for a minute longer
remove from heat and add the oil
then drizzle with the remaining dressing in the pan
portion the scallops and bacon onto the plates
 

there is something so very sexy, even powerful about being able to whip out a solid dish with very little effort… especially when it’s this good.

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here it is…the epitome of springtime…  could this not be a more restaurant worthy presentation?  i mean, if this was put down in front of you, wouldn’t you have high expectations?  a yolky fettuccine dressed with creme fraiche… the waft of truffle hitting your nose… yes, this is going to be just incredibly….

awful

dear readers, let’s just make this clear… it pretty much sucked.  it just did.  and it was altogether my own fault.  because each ingredient on it’s own was perfectly lovely.  i just didn’t know when to leave well enough alone…  and my pasta - as you might imagine - was freshly homemade, making it sting just a touch more. ..

pretty pasta (that you should never make)
anonymous

a container of creme fraiche
2 entire ounces of very expensive white truffle oil
fresh chives
fresh parsley
black pepper

ok, had i stopped here, i’d have had my usual winner of a simple pasta dish…
but nooooo..

toasted pine nuts (borderline error)
about a solid cup of grated parmigiano (first major mistake)
very young broccolini, chopped and left raw (second major mistake)
lemon infused olive oil (i must have been on crack - seriously)
broccolini flowers to garnish (whateva)

toss, eat, gag, toss
mourn over your beautiful wasted fettuccine, truffle oil and creme fraiche  

so like, this is me failing miserably. 
i am humbled in the face of fine cuisine.
i repent to the god of all things culinary.

final note: i served this to 4 people at a business meeting. 

one was a chef.

hee.

so what was your biggest flop?
 

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i just read that ‘nothing piques the passion of the seasonally obsessed chef like ramps‘.  they have a short season and a cult following, and rightly so.  these baby wild leeks boast a sweet but complex taste that falls somewhere between onions and garlic only much better.  much much better…

and hey, lest i digress…  could someone out there explain the whole fiddlehead fern phenomenon.  like what is the big deal?  i’ve had them prepared numerous ways by those in the know, and in a word?  meh.  with a capitol, meh.  so when ff’s show up, the only real good news is that then it must also be ramp