Pots & Pains

Easy Week Night Dinner

2011-06-19T20:51:00.001-04:00

Here in the Northeast, school still isn't out. Yes, I know we are edging into late June but we're still packing lunches each morning and doing homework at night. And because of all the snow we got this Winter, we have had 4 days tacked on to the end of our school year so the kids are not out until Friday June 25th! If you are a parent, you know the end of the year is busy, busy, busy so it helps to have some easy week night dinners the whole family can enjoy.

One of our favorites is a grilled Panini brimming with all sorts of goodies. Layered with taleggio cheese, prosciutto, spinach, peaches, and drizzled with honey, the salty sweet flavor of this very sophisticated grilled cheese is heavenly. Brush the cibatta bread with extra virgin olive oil and grill in your panini press until the cheese is melted, the spinach is wilted and the bread is browned.

Now that summer is approaching, this pressed sandwich could be tweeked to include the season's freshest produce. I'd love to hear what you do with your summer paninis!

CC Cupcakes!

2011-06-12T21:55:00.000-04:00

I've got the letter C on my mind lately because C is the first letter of the name we've chosen for our newest daughter. I also have cupcakes on my mind. Why, I do not know. But considering I had the opportunity to bring a dessert to a group dinner last night, I figured I'd make a go of a cupcake that has been dancing around in my head.

Coconut Cardamom Cupcakes

(lots of C's up there, no?)

The cupcake itself is a vanilla coconut cake batter and the frosting is a standard cream cheese (more C's) frosting infused with cardamom.

But I decided to fill the cupcakes with a little surprise in the center.

The filling is a Saffron Cream. A sweet pastry cream with a twist.

The cupcake batter baked up really well and I cut holes in the centers in which to pipe in the saffron cream.

After I topped the cupcakes with the cardamom cream cheese frosting I sprinkled some toasted coconut on top to add some color.

They were delicious!

Vanilla Coconut Cupcakes with a Saffron Cream filling and a Cardamom Cream Cheese Frosting

Cake

2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon coconut extract
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs, separated

Saffron Cream

1 cup milk
2/3 cup unsweetened coconut milk
Large pinch of saffron threads, crumbled
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
Pinch of salt
4 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Frosting

3/4 pound cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
3 cups confectioners' sugar
3/4 tsp ground decorticated cardamom
1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut or unsweetened coconut flakes

Directions

1. MAKE THE CAKE: Preheat the oven to 250°. Line your cupcake tin with papers. In a medium bowl, whisk the cake flour with the baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, whisk the coconut milk with the vanilla and coconut extracts.
2. In a bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter with 1/2 cup of the granulated sugar until fluffy. Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating well between additions. With the machine at low speed, add the dry ingredients in 4 batches, alternating with the coconut-milk mixture.
3. In a large bowl, using clean beaters, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. With the machine on, gradually beat in the remaining 1/2 cup of granulated sugar until the egg whites are thick and glossy. Scrape the beaten whites into the cake batter and fold until just combined.
4. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean and the cake springs back when lightly pressed. Transfer the cakes to a rack and let cool to room temperature.
5. MEANWHILE, MAKE THE SAFFRON CREAM: In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, coconut milk and saffron and bring to a simmer over moderate heat. In a medium bowl, whisk the sugar, cornstarch and salt. Whisk in the egg yolks until smooth. Gradually whisk in half of the hot saffron milk. Scrape the mixture into the saucepan and cook over moderate heat, whisking, until the saffron cream is thickened and just comes to a simmer, 4 minutes. Transfer the cream to a heatproof bowl and stir in the butter. Press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the cream and refrigerate.
6. MAKE THE FROSTING: In a medium bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the cream cheese with the butter until smooth. Add the confectioners' sugar and cardamom and beat well. Fill a pastry bag with a decorating tip of your choice and tefrigerate until chilled but still pipeable, about 10 minutes.
7. Using a corer or a small serrated knife, cut holes into the cupcakes but do not go all the way through. Discard most of filling from hole but keep the top. Using a piping bag and a large tip, fill cupcakes with saffron cream. Place top of cake piece over hole to hide filling.
8. Pipe frosting onto cupcake. Less is more with this b/c of the cardamom flavor in the frosting. No need to go over board with the frosting.
Make Ahead The unfrosted cake can be wrapped in plastic and kept at room temperature overnight, or frozen for up to 1 week. The frosted cake can be refrigerated, covered, overnight. Serve at room temperature or lightly chilled.
*Recipe adapted from Tyler Brown and Food & Wine.

Petit Dejeuner

2010-07-08T07:29:00.001-04:00

Your morning meal in Paris is a wonderful thing if you are of the continental breakfast persuasion. The pastries and breads combined with the wonderful fruits you can get at this time of year make for a delicious start to the day. This morning we started the day with pain aux raisins, pain au chocolat, baguette, des fraises et des cerises. And of course we had some lovely french beurre and confiture on hand for the baguette.

One of the things I love about France is that children often start the day with a bowl of hot chocolate. I don't know why they use a bowl but watching kids wrap their little hands around the warmth of of the cocoa makes you consider having your morning coffee that way.

We have started making hot chocolate for breakfast around here and the taste of the cocoa is different than it is in the US. It is less sweet and has a richer chocolate flavor. I think I'll be bringing a few boxes of this home with me in August!

Éclairs

2010-07-01T06:27:00.000-04:00

Never been much of a baker. Don't get me wrong. I love sweets. The savory side of the culinary world has always had a stronger pull on my palate, which may be, in part, due to the kitchen in which I was raised. Growing up our family had a kick-ass muffin recipe which everyone loved, cheese cakes appeared from time to time, and chocolate cookie batter rarely made it in scoops to a sheet pan. Brownies were always made from a box, pancakes from a mix, and cakes, hum, cakes were bought. Preferably from Alden Merrell. But my mother was known for her curry dishes, lemon garlic salad dressing, and something our family affectionately calls chicken and peaches. There just simply wasn't much baking going on.

Spending last summer in Paris sparked an interest in me to bake. After all, who can resist all the yeasty and sugary creations this city produces on every corner and several places in between. No other country can top France in a competition to produce incredible baked goods. In fact, rarely have I had even a simple baguette outside of France that rivals the delights of it's skinny loaf. This was especially puzzling to me last year when we returned home after 3-months of Parisian pain and I could not find a single breadmaker who could pump out a baguette that was simple, tasty, fresh and not weapon-like. Well except in Fairfield, CT where there is a wonderful pair of French bakers at Isabelle et Vincent. But these bakers, and I assume their ingredients as well as their secrets, are imported. Why though can't we replicate the french baguette, I wondered. The challenge started to consume me and I realized that if I was ever going to tackle a good loaf of bread, I should first become a baker. So I've spent the past year baking more than I ever have and have enjoyed every minute of it.

When we arrived back in Paris I was on a mission to take as many baking classes as I could. Who else could teach me better than the French? Last year I never found a place that was offering the kinds of classes I was looking for, at a time that was convenient for me, and in an environment I liked. I prefer classes that are less about a recipe and more about technique. There is always a nuance to creating something that books just can't convey. It is rewarding to learn the basics of something and then be able to tweek and change it to suit your desire.

The Macaron class last Saturday at La Cuisine Paris was so fabulous that I decided to see if I could attend another class. Luckily, I was able to find a sitter and signed up for a Wednesday afternoon Eclair class. I dropped my kids off with their new sitter at the playground in Le Jardin du Luxembourg and I scooted over to a 3-5 pm class just up the street. It could not have been more convenient.

We learned the basics of Pâte á Choux and I had a great revision on Crème Patissière. We learned the technique of piping the dough and then filling these delicious creations. A few people dropped out of the class at the last minute so we were fortunate enough to be just three students. As a result, I really made a batch of these goodies all by myself. It was a fabulous hands on experience. We made chocolate filled éclairs with a chocolate Glacage topping and apple flavored ones with a caramel topping. I also asked the chef if I could make a few round ones just to see how they'd turn out.

Fromage et le Foot

2010-06-27T11:34:00.001-04:00

I did not celebrate the USA FIFA Worldcup game yesterday with food. And we lost. So today, as 3/4 of my family is British, I decided to whip up a cheese board from what was in the frigo for the England/Germany game.

My guess at the 76 minute mark is that food does not matter when it comes to football. England was robbed of a goal but then forgot that defense was an important part of the game.

Tant pis.

La Cuisine et les Marchés de Paris

2010-06-26T16:43:00.002-04:00

I think the single thing I love most about Paris is that I can make nearly every day about food. Shopping for food, learning about food, exploring shops that sell equipment to prepare food, it is a wonderland of exquisite nourishment.

Saturday mornings are all about the Batingnolles Bio Marché. It is small but really good and the vendors there are wonderfully sweet and helpful. The whole market is organic so it takes a bit of the thinking part out of the shopping experience. You can just gravitate to what looks or smells good and go from there.

Plus there is always some sort of entertainment at the Marché and today it was this lovely lady as a singing clown. She serenaded my children with Sur la Pont D'Avignon.

I came home with a lovely assortment of fresh vegetables which won't last long here. The good and the bad of it is that buying fruits and vegetables at market here in France pretty much means they are ready to eat within a day or two. Unlike at home when your produce arrives at your market while still trying to ripen, everything here goes from farm to table ready to eat.

After the market we had a light lunch here at the apartment and then I gathered the family and we trundled off to the Luxembourg area for some play and some cooking. I enrolled in a cooking class on Macarons which was conveniently located across from Le Jardin du Luxembourg where the children could play for a few hours under the watchful eye of their handsome father. We had a tad bit more of a French experience getting down there than we would have liked with our bus route being shortened due to an unexpected manefestation. No one seemed sure about what the grave was about since we'd just had one on Thursday against the raising of the retirement age. As it turns out it was a series of street closures for the Gay Pride Parade.

The class was run by a fairly new outfit called La Cuisine Paris which apparently opened in October 2009. They have lots of classes at different times all days of the week so if you are a working stiff, a mère au foyer, or a student, there is a good chance you'll be able to find a class that suits your schedule.

There were 7 of us in our english speaking class. Two friends from Hong Kong by way of London, two American grandmas and their granddaughters, and me. We all had a wonderful time learning about these colorful cookies and I am sure that each on of us will be trying them on our own.

We made a green cookie to suit the green-apple vanille crème patissiere filling and then of course we did the obligatoire Chocolate Ganache.

I am excited about trying these recipes while I am here in France and having yet another excuse to go to G. Detou for supplies. I am not however exicted about the fact that I don't have a mixer and will have to use my brute strength and a whisk.

After the class, box of macarons in hand, we scooted home to make a quick dinner before the USA Ghana game. While in France we do things the French way with salad and cheese coming after the main dish. With two kids who actually eat vegetables but don't care for salad dressing, I have taken to just mixing greens in a bowl with dressing and serving salad ingredients on the side with the cheese. Here are some photos of our salad topping plate that the kids pick from while we eat cheese after our main. I added more of everything after this photo but when it comes to the simple beauty of food, less is more.

Après Dejeuner

2010-06-25T09:52:00.000-04:00

Two doors down is an artisan boulanger. The bread is great. Today the kids and I are having a lazy day that included walking across the street and 5 doors down to the Franprix for some supplies. On the way back I grabbed a baguette two doors down to make sandwiches for lunch. Oh and I decided it was a good time to sample the pastries to make sure they were good. I chose my three favorites, éclair au chocolat, tarte aux framboises, and flan.

They were all terrible. I ♥ Paris.

2010-06-24T04:26:00.002-04:00

Hello strangers.

I know. I was so good at feeding you tasty posts and then I fell completely off the wagon. Life got complicated and then got very busy. The good news is that I am now in Paris, France for a few months and will be happy to report on all things food related.

We are still quite jetlagged and instead of spending my evenings blogging, I am trying to get small children to sleep when they are WIDE awake!

We are living in a lovely flat in the 8th arrondissement which is convenient to my husband's office, the kids favorite parc, and the city's oldest bio market (organic). Most people who visit Paris have the unfortunate luck to be staying in a hotel. For the past two years, my husband and I have been coming to Paris for long stretches of time and therefore have been renting apartments. However, I now realize that there are many apartments for rent here for very short-term lets. Even if you are here for a few days you can find yourself a pad with a few rooms including a kitchen. I had a recent absurd conversation with another parent at my daughter's school regarding where to stay in Paris. She and her husband were traveling to Israel and were going to stay in Paris for a few days on either end. She asked me for a recommendation of a place to stay and I then launched into how great it was to stay in apartments and proceeded to give her a list of short-term let agencies. She stopped me mid-sentence and informed me that not only would she never stay in an apartment but that she only stays in 5-star hotels. I tried to convince her of the virtues of having your own kitchen while traveling but she was fixated on room-service. I let her know we should never vacation together.

I love apartments because a) I don't want to have to get dressed to go get coffee in the mornings on vacation b) I generally travel with a knife kit and frankly what's the point if you have no kitchen and c) I like to have an excuse to go to food markets. Now that we are on our third Parisian apartment I will tell you that I hate hotels even more. I love being able to play with food and shopping in foreign markets is such a treat.

So even if you've never been to Paris I bet you have a good idea that fresh food markets abound here and you can't help but stumble over markets selling produce that is bursting with flavor. (see photo above of tonight's quick grab at the market located about 20 steps from my apartment) I of course had all those notions before I came to live here last summer but what I didn't know was that there is a clever little market called Picard here in Paris which only sells frozen food. The insanity of your local Monoprix with loud music, bustling families, and crowded aisles is completely contradicted by the serenity of a Picard. The store is quiet, the people shopping there are quiet and if you've come in with children, you find yourself shushing them because the place is so calm. Most everything is housed in chest type freezers and at the front of the store there are always a few cases of "la sèlection du mois". Those are the unique items they have discounted that month. The products sold here are surprisingly good. Last year we got hooked on mini-ice cream cones. The nice thing about Picard is that they are everywhere and ours happens to be on the corner facing the market street I use to do most of my shopping so when I come home with bags full of fresh produce I can easily stop in to see if they have anything good on special at Picard.

This month we are rewarded with New Zeland rack of lamb on special so I decided to try it and it was fabulous. I seared it and then added a rosemary garlic rub before roasting. Along with some leftover risotto, heirloom tomatoes, a plate of cheese, baguette, and a salad with french vinaigrette - what could be better?? Since they come frozen, I am going to grab a few more racks for my freezer for the special ends this weekend.

I am surprised a store like this has not popped up in the US.

Dinner.....

I was aiming for a more rare piece of meat but I am still adjusting to a new kitchen with far less equipment than I am used to. I am going to have to get pretty good at the finger-press test to determine how well done a piece of meat is. I think learning to use one's senses rather than a thermometer is a good thing.

A pot worth stirring...

2010-03-31T15:48:00.002-04:00

Please share this wealth...

2010-03-26T15:01:00.004-04:00

and tune in tonight to Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. If you missed the preview segment that aired last Sunday, click the link in my left side bar to find it online. Having volunteered a few times during lunch at my children's school, I am pretty upset about what is put in front of our kids and called a meal. It is crap. So we pack our lunches at home. But Jamie has a point about the need to TEACH our kids ABOUT FOOD. Not just serve them something decent to eat, but to educate them on why they should eat some things and not others. This family has always had a food revolution going on here. We always eat fresh not processed. We cook at home. We try new things.

I could get preachy about

Hiding nutrients in other foods because you think just getting the food item into your kid is the important thing. I am talking about the way some parents think they are cleverly getting broccoli into their kids by baking it into a brownie. News flash: they're never going to like broccoli and they really should like broccoli. It's fantastic even with out sugar on it.
The role condiments play in getting children to eat food.
Letting your kids treat mom like a short order cook.

But I won't. I am sure you can imagine what I'd say.

Time to eat!

2010-03-02T10:08:00.002-05:00

If you love to eat, and since you're here reading this I imagine you do, dining at fine restaurants is such a treat. Eating something prepared by another person is not only a satisfying pleasure but also an inspiring experience for those of us who like to concoct things in our own kitchens. For me eating out is a watch and learn kind of thing. I love to examine how dishes are plated, how ingredients are paired, and how flavors work together. However, eating out at regular intervals can get expensive. I collect names of restaurants like I collect names of good books. When one is recommended to me, it goes on the list, which for books, sits on my bedside table and for restaurants ends up in a note on my iPhone.

If you are like me, with a long list of restaurants you are eager to try, rev up those engines, it's time to knock a few off that list. Boston's 2010 Winter Restaurant Week is coming up soon and this year there are over 216 participating restaurants to please the palate. Area restaurants will be offering fabulous meals at fixed discounted prices for the weeks of March 14 - 19 and March 21- 26. Two course lunches will be $15.10, three course lunches will be $20.10 and three course dinners will be $33.10 per person.

The website will provide you several different ways to search for restaurants participating in Boston's 2010 Winter Restaurant week and there will also be some links to OpenTable for restaurants using that site for reservations. You can even find information about discounted parking during Restaurant Week!

Happy eating!

Food Photography with Penny de los Santos

2010-02-22T17:44:00.001-05:00

How lucky am I to have been able to take a food photography workshop taught by the talented Penny De Los Santos. Her photos have been published in National Geographic, Newsweek, Time and Saveur Magazines just to name a few. One of her photographs graces the cover of the March 2010 issue of Saveur.

Last April I gave up a seat on a flight in return for an extra night in Miami, firsts class tickets home the next day and a voucher for another flight within a year. I thought I wasn't going to have the chance to use the voucher before it expired this spring until I saw that Aran of Canelle et Vanille had made arrangements for Penny's workshop to come to a culinary school in West Palm Beach! There was no way I could pass this up and frankly, escaping New England's winter for a few days in Florida was a perfect side dish to the whole plan.

Penny's class was worth every bit of this little adventure of mine - which included not eating a single proper meal yesterday as I connected my way down from Logan Airport. And you all know how I feel about not eating...and in particular, eating crap.

The four-hour workshop was well organized, informative, instructive yet informal. Penny shared wonderful insight, gave gentle constructive criticism, and allowed for plenty of questions and discussion. She mixed lecture with hands-on picture making sessions and really allowed us to take what we had just learned and try to apply it to a real-world situation. You really can't get more out of four-hours.

For me, what I leave with is a new approach to my picture making, a more intentional focus, and a desire to make as many pictures as I can. I can't wait to get back into the kitchen!

Baked French Toast

2010-02-16T08:32:00.001-05:00

While I love cooking up a tasty brunch for my family, I also like to sit and enjoy a hot meal too. So many of my family's favorite breakfast items are of the a la minute style that keeps me chained to the stove while every else is enjoying a hot plate of food. When I found an overnight baked french toast recipe years ago, I knew it would become a staple for our brunches big and small.

I make it every Christmas morning using Italian Panatone bread which is like a Challah bread but is studded with dried fruit and is a bit sweeter. Other times of the year I use a round french boule but you can experiment and try whatever you like.

The premise of the dish to to take a bread that will soak up an egg mixture overnight and then when baked it turns into a crispy french toast. You can toss in nearly anything you like. I add rum to my liquid for extra flavor and I often toss in fruit as I put the baking dish in the oven. Once it is done, a sprinkling of confectioners sugar and a strawberry or two completes the plate. This year, I decided to make a maple flavored buttercream and put a dollop on each piece to melt into the french toast for a buttery maple flavor. The fruit I tossed in were matchstick nectarines. I know, I know. What the heck am I doing buying nectarines at this time of year considering where I live. I was desperate. They looked good. My body is craving summer fruit. Anyway, they are pretty hard and I don't have much hope they will ripen-up so I cut them into match-stick pieces to roast along with the toast.

Materials:

13 x 9 baking dish

Ingredients:

Bread of your choice (not pre-sliced)
6 eggs
1 cup of milk (not low-fat)
3 tbs sugar
3 tbs maple syrup
splash of vanilla
pinch of salt
confectioners sugar

Optional:

glug of good rum
nuts or fruits for garnish

Instructions:

Butter your baking dish well.
Mix all (not the bread or confectioners sugar) the ingredients to make the egg mixture. Add the rum to this if you will be using it.
Once well mixed, pour some onto the bottom of your baking dish- just enough to have a shallow layer of egg at the bottom.
Cut bread into 3/4" slices and line your baking dish by settling the pices into the egg mixture you just poured onto the bottom of the pan.
Pour the remaining egg mixture on top of the bread.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 400°. Take dish out of fridge to bring to room temperature. Drain off any excess liquid at bottom of pan before putting in oven. The toast should take about 20 minutes in the oven. You can flip the toast pieces half way through if you like.

Making Candy with Kids

2010-02-12T15:47:00.001-05:00

Sometimes the best holiday treats are so simple. I love cooking with my kids, but often there isn't much time or the recipe I am working on is complicated. I didn't invite the kids to stand at the stove with me as I cooked sugar down into a syrup and then added cream and butter resulting in a somewhat dangerous boiling mess.

Making lollipops, especially when the BFF is over, is always a huge hit. Here is a foolproof way to make something pretty and wow your kids in less than 30 minutes.

Ingredients:

Original Jolly Rancher Candies
Lollypop Sticks
Small Clear Candy bags

Preheat oven to 200°
Line cookie sheet with foil as flat and wrinkle free as possible.
Lay candies out in a pattern you like.
Place in oven gently and melt.
Keep watching until the candy is fully melted and connects.
Remove from oven and immediately roll a stick into the soft candy.
Watch your kids smile!

When Salted Butter Caramel Goes Wrong But Ends Up So Right!

2010-02-10T14:54:00.002-05:00

It wasn't my intention to begin this post with the following question: What is the difference between caramel and toffee?

I intended to talk about the drippy, gooey nature of a soft, buttery caramel. Caramel could quite possibly be my favorite sweet. I used to make it often. Before kids. Having two kids in two years made me ever so vigilent about my waistline. Now I reserve the melting of sugar into liquid with additions of butter and cream for special occasions. So last night I set out after dinner to whip up some caramel to pour into my chocolate pie shells for this post. I decided to use David Lebovitz's recipe for Salted Butter Caramels instead of my regular simple caramel filling. However, events during the cooking process last night changed things a bit.

I know from much experience eating both caramel and toffee that the latter is much harder than the former but how to get one versus the other was not in my bank of knowledge.

That was until last night when I got distracted taking pictures of caramel dripping off wooden spoons (oh so pretty) and boisterous children who were supposed to be in BED (oh so annoying)! Add to that my Taylor candy thermometer seemed to go on vacation in the middle of the process. The end result, a "caramel" that hardened up pretty fast and seemed to be a direct threat to teeth we wanted to keep on the inside of our mouths.

However, this morning, I grabbed one of my little square nuggets of sugar joy and popped it in my mouth to see if it would soften up. Instead it broke into pieces much like the inside of a Skor bar. The candy definitely was taking on more of a toffee feel and taste so I decided to inquire with the internet as to the exact differences between the two.

Making caramel you can use either the wet or the dry method. The dry method is simply sugar heated in a pan until it melts into an amber syrup. I have always used the wet method. Sugar dissolved in a little bit of water over heat until it browns. You can leave it at that or you can, take your caramel off the heat, add butter and cream, and reheat until it is the amber color you are looking for. Normally, I just use my eyes and nose to figure out when to take it off the heat. Last night I was using a new thermometer and did not rely on my senses. While I like gadgets and toys in my kitchen, there really is no match for using your five senses when preparing food. So the basic difference between caramel, butterscotch and toffee is that they are cooked to different temperatures. Toffee being cooked the longest. So, fine, I have toffee. Things could be worse!

CHOCOLATE CARAMEL TARTS WITH AN ESPRESSO CHOCOLATE GANACHE

Chocolate Tart Dough:

1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), at room temp

1/2 cup confectioner's sugar

1/4 cup dutch processed cocoa

1 large egg yolk

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons ice water

In a bowl, sift together the flour and cocoa. Set aside. To prepare the dough, the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until combined. Add egg yolk and vanilla and beat until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then add the sifted flour and cocoa on low speed. Add ice water one tablespoon at a time. As with all doughs, you may not need all the water depending on the humidity of your area. You will want a dough that sticks together when pinched.

Turn dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap, form into a ball, wrap tightly and chill for at least 1 hour.

After dough is done, roll out to fit your pans, chill the dough in the pans for 20 minutes, and then blind bake at 325˚ for 15 minutes. (blind baking is when you bake a shell empty. Line it with foil and add pastry weights, beans or rice to the foil to prevent the shell from shrinking while baking.)

Caramel Filling:

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup water (some people use corn syrup or corn syrup and water for the liquid)

1/4 cup salted butter (1/2 stick)

1/4 cup cream

Dissolve sugar in liquid over low heat until dissolved. Increase heat and cook until it starts to brown. Occasionally use a wet pastry brush to wipe the sugar crystals from the sides of your pan. Do not stir the sugar as it cooks. Once it starts to brown, you can gently swirl the pan once to prevent hot pockets which may cause the sugar to burn. Stirring the sugar will encourage it to re-crystalize and become hard. Once it is the amber color of your liking, take it off the heat and add the cream and sugar. Be careful as it will bubble, spat, and splutter at you. Make sure you are using a pot with high enough sides because it will also rise in volume. Return the mixture to the heat for 5 minutes or less depending on how dark you want your caramel. (Insert my mistake here- lost track of time at this point and thermometer was not reading correctly.)

Ganache:

1/2 cup heavy cream

6 oz dark chocolate chopped into small pieces
2 teaspoons instant espresso

Heat the cream until hot and pour over chocolate to melt. Stir in espresso. Do this after your tart shells have been filled with the caramel so you can pour the ganache right on top and chill to set.

Construction

After you bake and cool your shells, fill with caramel and top with ganache. While the ganache is still warm, add a garnish of your choosing to pretty up your tarts. Nuts, dried fruit, caramelized ginger, herbs - all would make a very pretty dessert!

Kissed Red Velvet Mini-Cupcakes

2010-02-08T15:20:00.001-05:00

Ahh kisses. This is the week to be thinking about pecks on the cheek, secret love letters, blushing, all things pink and red, and of course sweets. This week here at Pots & Pans I will be focusing on tasty treats to celebrate Valentine's Day.

What I love about this sugary holiday is that, unlike Halloween, most of the sweet offerings are homemade. What I don't like about it, and all the other holidays for that matter, is that it has become lost in a sea of marketing and retail fluff. Thankfully only one of my children wants to send out Sponge Bob Squarepants Valentine Cards to all his first grade classmates. The other has decided she's going to make hers the old fashioned way.

Normally, my husband and I skip heading out to dinner on February 14th because it seems to have turned into a gimicky restaurant circus out there. We instead have celebrated the night before or after to avoid the fixed menus and herd like service. This year, with Valentine's Day falling on a Sunday, we will be making it more of a family event.

There may not be a better way to start off the week than with Red Velvet Cake. A cake that has been around seemingly forever and has its fair share of theory and speculation. Despite what you may think, this is not a white cake with red food coloring. The cocoa powder gives the cake a mild chocolate flavor and yes, food coloring does play an important role in its color but theory would have you believe that was not always the case. It is thought that in the early to mid-twentieth century, the use of unprocessed cocoa powder along with the buttermilk caused the batter to turn slightly reddish. The unprocessed cocoa powder contains anthocyanin, a food pigment, that when combined with an acid, like that found in buttermilk, reacts, turning the mixture slightly red. Nowadays, we use Dutch Processed cocoa powder which does not contain anthocyanin and so we must use some kind of food coloring to achieve the red batter. With all that said, contemporary kitchen experiments have not shown much proof in this pudding so we can't say with complete certainty that it was the anthocyanin and buttermilk that made the red in Red Velvet Cake. The cake recipe I use can be found on epicurious.com. However my favorite buttercream frosting recipe is from a 2001 issue of Food and Wine.

Cake Batter

2 1/4 cups sifted cake flour (sifted, then measured)
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon red food coloring
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350°F. Add liners to 2 muffin pans or 3-4 mini-muffin tins. Sift sifted flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into medium bowl. Whisk buttermilk, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla in small bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl until well blended. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating until well blended after each addition. Beat in dry ingredients in 4 additions alternately with buttermilk mixture in 3 additions.

Fill liners. Bake cupcakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 15-20 minutes depending on the size of your cupcake. Cool in pans on racks 10 minutes. Turn cakes out onto racks; cool completely.

Bon Appétit | June 2003

Buttercream Frosting

1/4 cup egg whites (about 6 large whites)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 sticks (1/4 pound) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons and softened

Directions

In a double boiler, beat the egg whites with the sugar over simmering water until the sugar has dissolved and the whites reach 160 degrees on a candy thermometer, about 7 minutes.
Pour the egg whites into the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the whisk and beat at medium speed until stiff, glossy and cool. Beat in the vanilla. At medium-low speed, beat in the butter, a few tablespoons at a time; continue beating until the buttercream is fluffy yet firm.

Nuggets of Info from a Demonstration Dinner at Sibling Rivalry

2010-02-05T11:02:00.000-05:00

The first Tuesday of every month, one of the chef brothers at Sibling Rivalry in Boston's South End hosts a cooking demonstration dinner. It is a small intimate event where a group of about 15 diners belly up to the bar facing the kitchen and get a first hand peek at how three of Sibling Rivalry's dishes are created. For $50 a head, everyone not only receives a delicious three-course dinner and a packet of recipes but also gets insider trade secrets and tips doled out along the way.

This past Tuesday, February 2nd, Chef David Kinkead was our host for the evening and presented Grilled Oysters Wrapped in Pancetta with Balsamic Mignonette and Chive Beurre Blanc and Herb and Garlic-Crusted Rack of Lamb. His pastry chef prepared a Dark Chocolate Parfait with Chocolate Sauce and Toasted Almonds.

Arriving early, our group of four ordered a bottle of Gigondas from the bar and then took our seats promptly at 7:00 pm as the presentation portion of the evening began. Chef David Kinkead and his pastry chef demonstrated the dishes while their guests were served slices Irish Soda Bread and an amuse-bouche of tuna tartare on a handmade waffle potato chip with a dab of sriracha aioli. Each chef took questions from the group whenever they arose and allowed for group discussion of food and food preparation. It was wonderfully interactive and offered useful information to novices and advanced cooks alike. After each dish was presented and explained, we all sat to dine on the food we just saw prepared.

In the beginning of my cooking foray, I snubbed cooking demonstration classes almost entirely. Hands-on classes seemed to be a much more valuable way to learn how to handle, prepare, and cook food. Over the years, my attitude has changed. So often I find in hands-on classes that, while I am learning to cook the one dish I have been asked to prepare, I am missing out on the finer points of how to cook the other dishes included in the course. While I walk away with a handful of recipes, I feel I have had a very narrow field of learning. Cooking demonstrations are great ways to improve one's understanding of the nuance of a particular dish or several dishes in a class of food. I now find that I often walk away with as much or more knowledge from a demonstration class as from a hands-on class.

The nugget of information I walked away with on Tuesday was how to get an evenly breaded crust on a piece of meat. So often a crusted anything will lose its crust to the bottom of the pan before it hits the plate. Chef David showed us a fantastic technique for getting that crust to lay flat and stay on your piece of meat. My 6 year old requested fish for dinner last night so I decided to try out this breaded crust technique.

Surf and Surf with Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Vine Tomatoes and Grilled Asparagus
We have a divided camp on fish here at my house. My son and husband love panko crusted cod and my daughter and I love salmon. So I did both to please everyone last night. I cooked the salmon whole and then sliced it to serve but cut the cod fillet into chunks and breaded them individually.

The salmon was the lucky recipient of the crust experiment. I did not use a recipe but just drawing on Chef David Kinkead's technique, I took one stick of softened butter and creamed it in a mixer. I then added some herbs I had on hand (tarragon) and a handful of panko. Once it was all incorporated and would clump into a ball, I rolled it out between sheets of parchment paper. I then put the flat sheet of butter, panko, and herbs into the fridge.

The chef said that this technique works well if you sear your meat first and then when it is cool, cut the chilled butter mixture into a piece the size of your meat and lay it flat on the area you want breaded. I broiled the crust until it browned and then turned down the heat in the oven for a few minutes to finish off the fish. Everything turned out perfectly. Yes, the highlight was the incredibly successful crust on the salmon but cooking the cod in medallions was a huge hit with my crowd as well.

Above: panko/butter mixture on fish before cooking. Right: Salmon on the left and Cod Medallion on Right

Sibling Rivalry, if you happen to see this post - see you in March. I had a fabulous time!

Fresh Pasta and a Product Review!

2010-02-02T09:52:00.001-05:00

I adore fresh pasta. The dough is pretty simple to make but where it gets complicated is creating all those fun shapes you see in the boxes that line supermarket shelves.

With the tools I have, my only options are linguini in two sizes or ravioli, unless I want to hand cut or roll the pasta, which I don't. Last night I had a hankering for something sagey and butternut squashie so I made a sage infused pasta dough, caramelized small diced squash, and made the pasta in a carbonara sort of way. It came out well with the flavors of butternut squash, sage, pancetta, and parmesan intermingling on my tongue, but I would have rathered the pasta in a bite sized pasta shape like rigatoni or penne.

My sister-in-law is just that lucky. She has a new toy I covet and hope to have in my own home sometime very soon. She was generous enough to share a review of this gadget in my very first guest-post here on Pots & Pains.

Product Review: KitchenAid Pasta Press Attachment for the Stand Mixer

by Christine

We love making fresh pasta at home, so a few years back we bought the KitchenAid pasta plates that attach to the meat grinder attachment for the stand mixer. The results were always lackluster -- gummy pasta and tubes of rigatoni and penne that collapsed during cooking. The plates quickly moved to the kitchen gadget graveyard in the back of our pantry.   We'd given up on making fresh penne and rigatoni at home until we discovered the KitchenAid Pasta Press from Williams-Sonoma. The press attaches to all KitchenAid stand mixers and extrudes pasta into six different shapes: penne, rigatoni, spaghetti, bucatini, fusilli, and small and large macaroni.

We were a bit dubious before using the press, but our first batch squashed any doubts we had. We've used the press about a dozen times so far and have not been disappointed! It is a well-designed piece of equipment and very straightforward to use. It comes with a thorough instruction manual that includes pasta dough recipes specifically developed for the press. We've only tried the basic recipe (see a slightly adapted version of the recipe below) to make penne, rigatoni, bucatini, and spaghetti.   The pasta maintains a perfect al dente texture, which is not always easy to achieve with fresh pasta.

The key to a successful outcome with the press is definitely a well-made pasta dough. As you can see in this video, we weighed the ingredients for our dough.   Weighing the ingredients, even the beaten eggs, ensures a consistent final product. When made correctly, the dough has a consistency similar to Play-Doh. Extruding the pasta is simple. You break the dough into small pieces and drop them into the press. The press is equipped with a built-in slicer that allows you to cut the pasta to your desired length. Usually, the first few inches of extruded pasta don’t come out perfectly. All you do is simply roll the dough back into a ball and drop it in the machine again. It is that simple!

The KitchenAid Pasta Press has been a great addition to our kitchen and we recommend it to anyone who enjoys making fresh pasta at home.

** Side note from Shannon: If you've made it to here without clicking on the link to the video, go back and click. It is a great short video on the steps involved in making pasta. Such a good video, I'll repost the link HERE! **

Basic Pasta adapted from the KitchenAid Pasta Press manual
Serves 4
The first time we made the basic dough recipe from the manual, we measured the ingredients according to the recipe and then weighed the measured amounts. We figured that weighing the ingredients would help us achieve consistent results in the future. The only change we made to the original recipe is the addition of one more tablespoon of water.

Ingredients
490g all-purpose flour, sifted

208g lightly beaten eggs

18g salt

2 tablespoons water

Directions
Place flour and salt in the bowl of the stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Turn the machine on to Speed 2 and gradually add eggs and water. Mix for 30 seconds.

Replace the paddle with the dough hook and knead the dough on Speed 2 for 2 minutes.

Remove the mixture from the bowl and place on a clean surface. Knead the dough by hand until it is smooth and holds together in a ball.

Rigatoni with Mushroom Ragout
Serves 4

Ingredients
1 Basic Pasta recipe (see above), extruded into rigatoni

Olive oil

2 shallots, thinly sliced

24 ounces cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms, reconstituted in warm water, drained, and roughly chopped

2 sprigs fresh thyme

1 cup dry white wine

1/2 teaspoon sea salt (we like Maldon Sea Salt)

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

Pecorino Romano or Parmagiano Reggiano to shave over plated pasta

White truffle oil to drizzle over plated pasta (optional)

Directions
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add a generous pinch of salt.

While the water is coming to a boil, heat a large skillet over medium-low heat and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the shallots and sauté until they begin to soften, about 5 to 10 minutes.

Add an additional tablespoon of oil to the pan and then add the mushrooms and thyme, being careful not to crowd the mushrooms. Sauté the mushrooms until they begin to brown slightly and shrink down, about 15 minutes. If necessary, sauté the mushrooms in batches or in two pans, using additional oil as needed.

Once all of the mushrooms have started to brown, return them to the pan and add salt and pepper. Continue cooking for 5 minutes.

Add the white wine to the pan and bring to a boil while scraping all of the brown bits with a wooden spoon.

Once the mushrooms have absorbed most of the wine, remove the thyme sprigs from the pan. Reduce the heat to low and add the heavy cream and one tablespoon of parsley. Stir to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste. Keep ragout warm on the lowest heat setting.

Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente, about 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon or skimmer, transfer the cooked pasta to the pan with mushrooms and toss until combined.

Divide the pasta evenly among plates. Garnish each plate with remaining parsley and shave cheese over the pasta. If using truffle oil, drizzle a small amount over each plate.

Mushrooms & Seasonal Eating

2010-02-01T10:06:00.000-05:00

Living in the Northeast makes it difficult to be a year-round consumer of local food products. I love eating what is in season and even more than that, I love to eat what is sourced locally. With frozen tundra for miles and miles, winter in the Northeast is a particularly difficult time to continue these habits. Ah, how I long for the summer days of farmers markets and trips to orchards.

While it is difficult, it isn't impossible to continue some sort of locavore eating. Mushrooms are in season right now and are perfect for warm, comforting winter dishes. Added to a stew, being the headliner of a risotto, or a garnish to a perfectly grilled piece of steak, Mushrooms are versatile nuggets of flavor.

Shiitake, Oyster, and King Trumpet, and Chanterelle mushrooms are all in season right now and if you don't believe me, take a look at what Pim, of Chez Pim, found last week in her area here and here.

As for keeping on top of what is in season, I have an iPhone app that keeps me on track. It is called Seasons and after you give it your location, it will provide you with what is in season globally or locally. It is a great little gadget to have on hand! As for the nuggets of joy in the photo above and to the left, they unfortunately were not sourced by me in a forest but instead from my local Whole Foods. They found their fate in a bowl of risotto along side a nicely grilled piece of steak.

Macarons Citron et Framboise

2010-01-29T07:52:00.105-05:00

Many years ago I was standing in the kitchen of my friend's New York City apartment when she offered me one of, what she claimed were, her favorite cookies in the world. She looked around to make sure there were no children about who might ask for one too as she reached into her cupboard and pulled out a mint green box with gold embossed lettering. She opened the box and showed me the vibrant colors of beautifully perfect round sandwiched cookies and told me that her husband had brought them home for her from a recent trip to Paris. A macaron she called them. I can't remember what flavor I tried but it was incroyable!

This past summer my family had the incredible fortune to live in Paris for 3 months while my husband worked out of his company's French office. Lucky for him, and me, the people working out of the French office were wonderful and kind. Over the course of our stay, his colleagues learned that I love to cook. The day before we left, they presented me with Ladurée's Sucré cookbook and requested that I send them some Macarons. It couldn't have been more special.

Well we've been home for months now and as usual, life gets the better of time and I haven't had a chance to try to tackle what seems to be a very complicated cookie. Until this week. I am pleased to report that I successfully made lemon macarons with a raspberry filling. I should also admit that it took not only the Ladurée cookbook but two other sources for me to wrap my head around the process.

Using the ingredient list from Ladurée as well as some of the instructions, some of the step-by-step photo instructions from i ♥ macarons (a book written by a Japanese pastry chef and sent to me by my wonderful sister-in-law) and some inspirational suggestions from Cannelle et Vanille, a blog I read, I was able to tackle these elegant and tasty cookies. The cookies were actually not that difficult. I think arming myself with all this information reduced my chances of failure. Oh, but there were little failures along the way but in the end I got a beautiful cookie with a crispy outer shell and a soft center, that tasted of lemons, sugar, and raspberries. What could be better?

I am not going to provide a recipe or instructions because nearly every source indicates something different. I will, however point you to the pieces of information I found particularly helpful.

♥ Most sources point toward a butter cream filling, but I wanted something more fruity and Ladurée's Confiture de Framboises fit the bill perfectly.
♥ All sources will tell you to tap the cookie pan on the counter after you pipe the cookies to help form the pied. As you can see, I got a great pied on my cookies!
♥ Spelling out Macaronnage and Macaronner in i ♥ macarons was very helpful. Macaronnage is the French term for mixing flour and meringue to make macarons. Macaronner is the verb for mixing the batter until firm and dripping slowly. Too much macaronnage can lead to oil staining on the cookie and this book spells out exactly how many times to beat the batter.
♥ Cannelle et Vanille, aside from the beautiful pictures, gave me a gram measurement for the eggs which was helpful since I had some whites sitting in the fridge from another baking project and also made two key suggestions. 1. use old eggs, separate them and leave them in the fridge uncovered for a few days. 2. Leave the piped cookies out in the air to dry for more like 30 minutes instead of 15 as suggested in other sources.

So there you have it. Macarons are definitely worth a try and I will be incorporating them into my regular repertoire around here. My daughter loved them and took one to school to show her friends...and of course for a sweet bite after lunch.

PS. Those little mistakes I mentioned earlier? The ones I will try to fix for next time... are shown here....

Steak and Guinness Pie

2010-01-28T12:28:00.002-05:00

Having spent much of his youth in England, my husband has a weakness for any kind of meat stew wrapped in any kind of pastry dough. His mother makes him things like Steak and Kidney Pie which I have not tried yet. I love pâtés and fois gras so I am not sure why kidneys are the one particular organ meat I have trouble finding appetizing. Years ago I grabbed one of Jamie Oliver's recipes for Steak and Guinness Pie and have made it a winter staple ever since.

The only issue I have with this dish is that Jamie calls for a puff pastry to be wrapped around the stew and for me, all together, that combination is a little too heavy. The stew itself is a filling comfort food and combined with a puff pastry shell it becomes almost too rich of a dish. The other problem I have is that the bottom dough was never crusting up as it should and gave way to the weight of the stew when I served it. So this week I decided to try something different. I used a simple pâte brisée pie crust and put it in a shallow tart pan with a removable bottom. Butter and flour your pan well and the pie will come out easily.

Things went well and the pie came out exactly as I wanted. The crust was strong enough to hold the shallow amount of filling in the tart pan. The other change I made, which was not intentional, a substitution of Magic Hat Ale for the Guinness. Just what I had on hand. Magic Hat Ale seemed to produce a stew a bit less bitter than it usually is with the Guinness.

Here is the recipe from Jamie Oliver's Website.

Ingredients

• olive oil
• 3 medium red onions, peeled and chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
• 30g butter, plus extra for greasing
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 sticks of celery, trimmed and chopped
• 4 field mushrooms, peeled and sliced
• 1kg brisket of beef or stewing beef, cut into 2cm cubes
• a few sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves picked and chopped
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 x 440ml can of Guinness (no lager, please!)
• 2 heaped tablespoons plain flour
• 200g freshly grated Cheddar cheese
• 500g best-quality ready-made all-butter puff pastry
• 1 large free-range or organic egg, beaten

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF/gas 5. In a large ovenproof pan, heat a glug of olive oil on a low heat. Add the onions and fry gently for about 10 minutes – try not to colour them too much. Turn the heat up, add the garlic, butter, carrots and celery and scatter in the mushrooms. Mix everything together before stirring in the beef, rosemary, a pinch of salt and a level teaspoon of pepper.

Fry fast for 3 or 4 minutes, then pour in the Guinness, stir in the flour and add just enough water to cover. Bring to a simmer, cover the pan with a lid and place in the preheated oven for about 1½ hours. Remove the pan from the oven and give the stew a stir. Put it back into the oven and continue to cook it for another hour, or until the meat is very tender and the stew is rich, dark and thick. A perfect pie filling needs to be robust, so if it’s still quite liquidy, place the pan on the hob and reduce until the sauce thickens. Remove from the heat and stir in half the cheese, then season carefully and leave to cool slightly.

Cut about a third of the pastry off the block. Dust a clean work surface with flour and roll both pieces of pastry out evenly with a floured rolling pin to the thickness of a pound coin. Butter an appropriately sized pie dish, then line with the larger sheet, leaving the edges dangling over the side. Tip the stew into your lined dish and even it out before sprinkling over the remaining cheese. Brush the edges of the pastry with a little beaten egg.

Cut the other rolled sheet of pastry to fit the top of the pie dish and criss-cross it lightly with a sharp knife. Place it over the top of the pie and fold the overhanging pastry on to the pastry lid to make it look nice and rustic. Brush the top with beaten egg, then bake the pie directly on the bottom of the oven for 45 minutes, until the pastry is cooked, puffed and golden. Delicious served simply with peas.

2010-01-27T14:00:00.002-05:00

Until last summer I hadn't heard of a white wine called Viognier. Now it is something I am constantly rummaging through wine stores to find. Living in France is a wonderful way to really grasp the complexities of French wines. While wines from around the world are so accessible, Wine 101 for Americans generally starts with the varietals coming out of California or Washington. Varietals are easy to grasp which is why, for me, the blended nature of French wines was a bit confusing. We will get into French blends sometime in the near future, but today I am going to talk about a French varietal called Viognier which is not all that easy to find, especially for a good price.

Viognier grapes historically have been unique to the Rhone region of France. In recent years, vintners in California, Washington, New York, Colorado, Australia and Brazil have planted Viognier vines in an attempt to bring more of this delicious wine to market. From what I have learned, the reason why the Viognier grape has not had the kind of explosive expansion of say a chardonnay grape, is because it is a difficult vine to grow. While it handles dry growing conditions quite well, it is apparently very susceptible to mold growth. It also has to be harvested at a very particular time to ensure the grape has developed the bold flavors associated with this particular wine. This grape has a tendency to be high in sugar and low in acid which, if harvested at the wrong time, can result in a bland flavor and high alcohol content wine.

All of that becomes clear once you taste a Viognier and realize the unique flavors and aromas bring such character to this wine. In my opinion it has more character and flavor than any other white wine I have ever experienced. It is incredibly fruity but is dry and soft at the same time. Some will compare it to the flavors of a Gewürztraminer but with the dryness and soft mouthfeel of a chardonnay.

Name: Viognier

Year: 2008

Vintner: Pesquié

Grape: 100% Viognier

Estate Bottled:Yes

Country of Origin: Rhone, France

Price: $18.00

P & P Tasting Notes:

This is a full-bodied fruity white wine. It has more fruit in the aroma than citrus but nevertheless, both are distinctly found in this viognier. The wine has the soft roundness of a chardonnay and none of the crispy bite of a sauvignon blanc. It also has the deep golden color of a chardonnay. Please seek one out to try!

Now it's your turn!
Post your favorite grape du jour and link to me!

Creamy Shrimp & Asparagus Risotto

2010-01-26T18:19:00.006-05:00

See what deliciousness pancetta can bring? Just look at those crispy nuggets of gastronomic joy! As I mentioned in yesterday's post, cooking up diced pancetta is how I always start my risotto.

I think nearly everyone loves a well executed risotto. Unfortunately, it can go terribly wrong if it is under or overcooked. I find that ordering it in restaurants is a little risky because it can so often fall into one of those two categories. The crunch and grit of an underdone risotto or the glutenous mush of an overcooked risotto is so disappointing.

Ideally, you want a creamy plate of food where the grains of rice are distinguishable from one another and the flavors of the other ingredients marry well. To attain the creamy texture, many recipes and chefs call for cream itself. I never use cream in my risotto, instead, manipulating the grain to release just enough starch to create a smooth and comforting texture.

Most of my friends make risotto, and make it well, but I have had a few people ask me to give them a demonstration on the process. So here goes...

Per the food porn picture above, I always start with pancetta because it brings great flavor and natural salt into the dish. After the pancetta is cooked until crispy, I remove it from the pan and drain off about 50% of the rendered fat. I use the other 50% to sauté my onions. Layer the flavors!

The basic outline of cooking risotto goes like this:

1. Sauté onions in fat

2. When translucent, add risotto grains to pan and cook/toast until you hear them crackle a bit.

3. Add wine and cook until fully absorbed.

4. Start adding your stock. (which should be warming in a sauce pot nearby.)

Add enough stock to cover the rice and simmer until it is mostly absorbed. Then add more stock.

5. Follow this pattern until the rice is almost al dente. It has more of a crunch than you'd want to eat but seems to be close (maybe 5 minutes away) to being done.

6. Turn off heat, add a handful of parmesan, a knob of butter, a few grinds of the pepper mill and the cooked pancetta. Stir to combine and put the lid on the pot for 5 minutes.

Seriously, 5 minutes off the heat with the lid on. Go set the table or send a few emails and then come back to it.

Steps 2 and 3 are critical points in the process for creating a creamy texture in your final dish. By toasting the rice before liquid is added and then adding a wine before the stock, you are breaking down the outer shell of the grain to release the starch.

Risotto is like a blank canvas upon which you can add so many other flavors and ingredients. Depending on your dish, you will want to add those items at different times during the cooking process. For fast cooking things like shrimp or delicate vegetables, I add those during the last five minutes so they don't over cook. If you have something with herbs, you'll want to add those as you are toasting the rice so they can impart flavor as the rice cooks. If you've got something that really needs to cook, you may want to sauté that with the onions or add just before the stock so it cooks along with the risotto. Just keep in mind that large pieces of ingredients that take a while to cook may not be ideal for risotto. The rice really should only take about 18 minutes of cooking plus the 5 minutes of resting at the end.

Pancetta getting crispy and the fat rendering off. As you can see on the right side of this photo, a layer of flavor has formed on the bottom of the pan that I scrape up with my wooden spoon when I add the wine. When the pancetta is done to your liking, remove from pan and drain on a paper towel.

1 medium Onion, diced, sautéing in the rendered fat of the pancetta. The color comes from the pork bits left on the bottom of the pot not because I have cooked them until they are browned.

Above is about how much wine I add to 1 1/4 cups of risotto. Well, I guess not all of it. To the left is what I get to drink while cooking!

After you have added stock twice and cooked it until it has been absorbed, taste your risotto. You need to take a bite to figure out where you are in the cooking process!

When you think you are ready to turn off the heat and cover the risotto, add things that will over cook fast like asparagus, shrimp, or peas. Don't forget to season with some pepper. If you've used pancetta you likely won't need additional salt.

Sorry for the poor lighting and messy composition of the photo above. It is here just to show you that I've added the pancetta, parmesan, butter, asparagus, and if you can see it the shrimp are nestled snugly into the risotto to cook. Lid when on fast and I left the room with my glass of wine to watch 5-minutes of whatever news program was on.

Five minutes later we had this. A creamy, buttery, shrimp and asparagus risotto.

Pantry Item: Pancetta

2010-01-25T09:07:00.001-05:00

Well, no I don't keep it in my pantry. But much like a pantry item, I always have a block of Pancetta on hand in my freezer. It is my go to food item for injecting flavor into nearly any dish.

Pancetta can be found in a few different forms, diced, sliced, or whole. Where I live, finding it whole can be difficult. At many markets now you can find it diced or sliced with prepackaged deli meats. When I found it whole at Market Basket, I stopped looking elsewhere. I prefer it whole because it gives me more options on how to use it. Most often I dice it in either a medium or a small dice, and render it up before starting a dish. I love to use it to start soups or risottos. In my mind, anything hearty could use a bit of Pancetta.

Pancetta is a pork belly rolled or prepared in flat slabs of muscle and fat. Unlike bacon, Pancetta is not smoked but simply cured with salt, pepper, and sometimes nutmeg or fennel. It is then dried for a few months. My preferred way to use Pancetta is to render it over medium-high heat until slightly crispy and then after removing the cooked diced Pancetta from the pan, I drain about 50% of the fat off but use the rest to sautée onions or other vegetables. Since Pancetta is a salted meat, I rarely ever salt a dish that has Pancetta as an ingredient.

I regularly put crispy Pancetta in quiche, salads, scrambled eggs, pasta dishes, and of course all those aformentioned hearty dishes.

Boston Winter Foodie Events

2010-01-22T11:14:00.004-05:00

SPECIAL ONE-TIME EVENTS

Rum Tasting with Tony at Redbones in Somerville
Monday, January 25 from 5 - 7 pm

(617) 628.2200

Downtown Wine & Spirits' Tony Iamunno returns with rums. From the Berkshires to Brazil and islands in the Caribbean to India, Tony has selected eight excellent rums for sipping & mixing:

Hurricane Rum, Triple 8 Distillery, Nantucket

Ragged Mountain Rum, Berkshire Mountain Distillers, Great Barrington, MA

Matusalem 15 Year, Matusalem & Co., The Spirit of Cuba made in the Dominican Republic

Patron Pyrat XO, Anguilla Rums Ltd., BWI, for Patron

Pampero Ron Añejo Aniversario, Industrias Pampero, Venezuela
Barbancourt 15 Year, Rhum Barbancourt, Haiti
Leblon Cachaça, Brazil

Old Monk, Mohan Meakin, India

8 1/2 oz. pours & appetizers for $15.00.
Reservations not necessary but come early to get a seat. Tasting starts at 5:30 pm.

19th Annual Boston Wine Expo

January 23-24, 2010

Seaport World Trade Center and Seaport Hotel

From the Boston Wine Expo Site:

Grand Tasting	Sample wines from over 450 international wineries in one location. Some 1,800 wines in all!
Celebrity Chefs	Watch over 15 celebrity chefs in action on two stages, taste samples, and bring their recipes home with you.
Guided Tastings/Seminars	Learn something new at 26 continuous seminars with topics for both the novice and the connoisseur.
Grand Cru Wine Lounge	Pamper yourself by visiting the ultra-special Grand Cru Wine Lounge. The Lounge is located in a private setting away from the show floor for your enjoyment. Sample the best of the best and relax in this intimate area. Featuring an al-new lineup of vintages!
"Meet and Greet" the Winemakers	Meet your favorite winemakers in this special feature area returning in 2010 and learn the secrets of their wines. Sponsored by JetBlue.

2010 WINTER RECURRING EVENTS

Cheese Fondue Sundays @ Beacon Hill Bistro

5:30- 10:00 pm $26 per pot for two

What could be better than a fondue dinner on a cold winter Sunday night? Served up by the cozy, French, Beacon Hill Bistro, this is a can't miss recurring event. Pots of cheese fondue for two people are priced at $26 will be available in addition to the regular menu. BHB of course serves their fondue with all the proper accompaniments: small boiled potatoes, cornichon, pickled vegetables like ramps, cipollini onions and cauliflower, and rustic bread from Iggy's. Reservations are recommended so call 617.723.7575 to book your table anytime between 5:30 to 10:00pm.

Wine & Dine Mondays @ Beacon Hill Bistro

7 pm $55 per person

BHB has recently announced their 2010 Winter/Spring Wine & Dine Monday line-up. These are twice monthly events that are wonderfully social, gastronomic, and informative all at the same time. Having attended the BHB Wine & Dine with Languedoc-Roussillon wines in November 2009, I will be sure to join them as often as I can for the 2010 series.

Monday, January 25th - Mendocino and Lake County
Monday, February 8th - Puglia
Monday, February 22nd - It's all Greek to me!
Monday, March 8th - Barossa Valley/Langmeil Winery
Monday, March 22nd - Tempranillo
Monday, April 12th - Alsace - Maison Hugel
Monday, April 26th - Austria
Monday, May 10th - Blind Tasting

Seating is limited so make sure to reserve your spot by calling 617.723.7575.

Wine Mondays @ L'Espalier

7 pm $60 per person

Since its inception in 2002, Wine Monday evenings have consisted of a selection of wines, inspired by the changing seasons, wine regions or varietals, paired with a four-course tasting menu composed by Chef McClelland. With menus and pairings ranging from the classical to the adventurous, guests at Wine Mondays are often the first to taste a dish that ultimately shows up on L’Espalier’s Prix Fixe menu.

Participants are seated at large tables that foster lively conversation, while sommelier Erich Schliebe leads an engaging, informal talk that is appropriate for a range of enthusiasts, from newcomers to experienced wine lovers.

The four-course meal, which costs $60, begins at 7:00pm in the restaurant's book-lined library. Reservations can be made by calling L'Espalier directly at 617.262.3023.

2010
1/4 - Wine Resolutions
1/11 - Australia
1/18 - (MLK day) - Burgundy
1/25 - Red Letter Day
2/1 - American ABCs (Anything But California)
2/8 - Wine and Chocolate
2/15 - (Presidents' Day) - Washington

2/22 - Cab'n Fever
3/1 - Italy
3/8 - Loire
3/15 - Rhône
3/22 - Spring Fling
3/29 - March Madness
4/5 - (Easter Monday) - Rosé Colored Glasses

Wine Wednesdays @ Sel de la Terre Long Warf

7 pm $38 per person

Sel de la Terre's Long Wharf location offers Wednesday evening wine tasting dinners. Wines are chosen to compliment the season and the rustic french fare offered by Chef Knack. To reserve your spot, check the schedule below and call 617.720.1300.

~~Wednesday, January 6th~~ - New World Wines for the New Year
Wednesday, January 13th - Cabernet Sauvignon & Cabernet Franc
Wednesday, January 20th - Southern Hemisphere
Wednesday, January 27th - Red in the Face
Wednesday, February 3rd -Loire Valley
Wednesday, February 10th - Wine & Chocolate
Wednesday, February 17th - California
Wednesday, February 24th - Southern France
Wednesday, March 3rd - Italy
Wednesday, March 10th - Rhône Valley
Wednesday, March 17th - French ABCs
Wednesday, March 24th - Spain
Wednesday, March 31st - Seth's Favorites

2010 WINTER ONCE-A-MONTH EVENTS

Show & Taste Tuedays @ Sibling Rivalry

7 pm $50 per person

Sibling Rivalry's Show and Taste Tuesdays offers a 3-course meal and some extra special kitchen insight the first Tuesday of each month. Chef David Kinkead will choose three courses from the Sibling Rivalry menu and demonstrate how to prepare them. The $50 per guest cost includes dinner and the demo. Call Sibling Rivalry at 617.338.5338 to reserve your seat.

Cheese Tuesdays @ L'Espalier

7 pm $68 per person

For cheese lovers, L’Espalier’s renowned cheese tray is the ultimate indulgence. Born out of Fromager and mâitre d’ Louis Risoli’s desire to satiate diners passion for cheese, Cheese Tuesday has become one of the most exciting and popular nights at L'Espalier. Once a month, in-house cheese expert Risoli, hosts a special evening of cheese and conversation. Chefs McClelland and James Hackney build a four-course menu around the various cheeses, while wine director Erik Johnson, pours matching wines.

Risoli covers all aspects of cheese, including artisanal cheese production, differences in taste and texture, cheese producing regions, and cheese selection - informing guests how to choose particular cheeses, determine when a cheese is ripe, and how to experiment with new and exciting varieties.

Similar to Wine Monday, guests are seated at communal tables that encourage spirited conversation the singing doesn't hurt either!

SCHEDULE
Feb. 2 - Island Hopping: Some of our favorite cheeses come from exotic locales.

Feb. 23 - Fondue Party: A fun cheese meltdown, featuring Raclette, Fontina, and Tarentaise, served up in sommelier Kate Moore's extraordinary collection of vintage fondue pots.

Braise: Simple Wonderful Winter Dishes

2010-01-21T09:29:00.001-05:00

Braise is the title of a book by Chef Daniel Boulud of renound NYC restaurants such as the 3 Michelin Star Daniel, Café Boulud, DB Bistro Moderne, Bar Boulud, and most recently DBGB Kitchen and Bar. Braising is perfect for cold winter days and is a cooking method that is great for busy parents trying to get a decent meal on the table while trying to juggle homework, baths, and family time. I am pretty sure most of my friends don't think they have time to serve a falling off the bone chicken dish to their families on a busy week night. Those of you who do braise on a regular basis will agree- and please do chime in here- that this one pot wonder of a meal is perfect for a busy cold winter night.

If I mentioned to you that I was going to do a braised tarragon chicken dish with a mustard sauce over taragon infused rice, you might think I was trying to get all fancy on a Wednesday night. Not so. This was a dish prepared by Chef Boulud as a guest on the Emeril Show. I was at the gym and I find it to be a special kind of torture to watch the Food Network while I try to burn off yesterday's excessive calories. Chef Boulud prepared this with rabbit but since I am dealing with 6 & 8 year olds, Lapin, was NOT going to do. I am pretty sure my daughter would burst into tears if I ever served her a bunny.

TARRAGON CHICKEN WITH A MUSTARD SAUCE:

I have no proportions here so just go with the flow...

Chicken pieces ON THE BONE (Braising works very well with lower cost cuts of meat)
Heap of Flour on a plate
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil
Mustard Seeds
Tarragon
White Wine
Chicken Stock (preferably a good one or home-made)
Cippolini Onions, Small Boiling Onions, or chopped yellow onions
Button Mushrooms
Parchment Paper
Enameled Cast Iron Pot or one with a Good Heavy Bottom

Creme Fraiche
Dry Mustard
Good Dijon Mustard

Whatever rice you like
Diced onions
Chopped tarragon

CHICKEN

Preheat oven to 350.
Cut parchment paper to shape of pot. Easiest way to do this is to trace the pot onto the paper. Cut a quarter sized hole out of the middle of your circular parchment paper.
Drizzle pot with olive oil and heat over high heat.
Season Chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge in flour and place in hot pot to brown.
Brown chicken on all sides.
Add mustard seeds, onions, tarragon and let heat up for a minute or two.
Add wine and stock so you have covered 3/4 of the ingredients with liquid.
Add mushrooms.
Cover with parchment and put in oven for 45 minutes to an hour.

SAUCE

Once chicken is done, remove from pot and place on a platter.
Mix to combine about a cup of creme fraiche with a heaping spoonful of mustard and a teaspoon of dry mustard.
Add that to the liquid in your pot and stir until it is a thickened smooth sauce.

RICE

Use whatever rice you would like but first sautée diced onions in some olive oil, then add your rice.
Cook rice for about a minute before adding liquid.
Add chopped tarragon.
Add liquid and simmer until done.

The thing I like so much about this kind of dish is that it is just about the technique. The recipe, if you will, doesn't need to be specific or exact. You can change up your meats, your herbs, your flavors to create new dishes that fit your family. Our dinner was fantastic. So fantastic that we gobbled it up before I remembered I should have taken pictures for this post! The meat fell off the bone and was so tender and flavorful. No one but me in my family likes mustard. My husband especially. If I make sandwiches and dare to cut his in half with the mustard knife forget it- he won't eat it. So it was only after I saw him ladle his umpteenth spoonful of sauce onto his chicken and rice that I told him it was a mustard sauce. Another small victory in my kitchen!

Because I have deprived you of photos today, I figured I'd give you a little something extra. While the chicken was braising last night (see, it seriously is easy) I decided to make a home-made granola. Yeah. How good is that over plain yogurt in the mornings!

I used this recipe from epicurious.com

3/4 cups pecans
1/2 cup natural almonds
4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/4 cup sesame seeds (optional)
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1/3 cup pure maple syrup, cane syrup or honey, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
3/4 cup chopped dates
1/2 cup dried blueberries or raisins

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a large shallow baking sheet with foil. Spread the pecans and almonds on the sheet and roast for 8 to 10 minutes, until lightly toasted. Transfer the nuts to a board, let cool and chop the nuts. Set aside.
Reduce the oven temperature to 300°F. Pour the oats and sesame seeds, if using, in a mound on the same baking sheet. Melt the butter in a small bowl in the microwave; stir in the maple syrup and salt and drizzle on top of the oats. Stir well with a rubber spatula and then spread out the oats in an even layer.

Bake the oats for 30 minutes, stirring once with the spatula halfway through, until the oats are lightly colored. Let cool; the mixture will crisp as it cools. Add the dates, blueberries, and reserved nuts and toss.

2010-01-20T08:59:00.004-05:00

Now if you've been paying attention, and I am sure you have, you may have noticed a switcheroo on this week's wine selection for Wino Wednesday. Originally I was going to post about one of my favorite whites, a French Viognier. However, life interrupted and I forgot to chill it in time to drink it last evening. Since it would definitely be inappropriate to do the tasting before school drop off this morning I decided to switch wines to something that was already chill'in in my wine fridge.

Name: Sauvignon Blanc

Year: 2008

Vintner: St. Supéry

Grape: 100% Sauvignon Blanc

Estate Bottled:Yes

Country of Origin: USA, California, Napa

Price: $15.00- $19.00

P & P Tasting Notes:

A light tart Sauvignon Blanc. It smells of grapefruit, melon, and a hint of lime. Its refreshing flavor greets your tongue with a slight tingle so typical of a SB. It has fruity and aromatic flavors that don't overpower or bite. It has a nice mouth feel and I feel so silly saying that but so many SB's suck all the moisture out of your mouth with their tartness. This one, while remaining faithful to the light, crispy tartness of a SB, doesn't over-do it. This is not a wine I usually buy, it was given to me by a friend. I will absolutely put it on my list of great wines you can trust.

Further information on this grape...

SAUVIGNON BLANC

"The varietal identity of Sauvignon Blanc is typically similar to grass, bell-pepper, or grapefruit in nature. New Zealanders liken it to "gooseberry", but that is not a familiar smell or flavor to most Americans. " - Winepros.org

Now it's your turn!
Post your favorite grape du jour and link to me!

Lemon Curd & A Double Birthday

2010-01-19T11:30:00.006-05:00

As much as I hate being cold, I really do love Winter. Living in the Boston area we get a lot of Winter every year but it isn' always white. Often we are forced to suffer through the low temps with no snow to play in and seriously by June that can get kinda old. This year however, we have been rewarded with lots of gentle snow storms and thankfully, no snow days yet. (I also like summer and want my kids to get out as early as possible so we can play on the beach.) I love sitting at home, like I am now, quietly watching the white flakes fall from the sky with a fire going and some classical music on in the background. This serene atmosphere just makes me want to do one thing, cook up something cozy, warm and comforting. So while I love Winter, it isn't such a great time of year for my waistline.

Luckily I had already planned a day of cooking for yesterday because when I woke up we had a surprise inch of snow on the ground and the storm was just getting going. I clearly hadn't watched a weather report in a long time. The only troublesome part about yesterday's storm was that it made the roads a mess here in our small town and I was hosting 16 women for dinner to celebrate the birthday of our dear friends who are identical twins. When I say identical, I mean, seriously they should have done the Doublemint Gum commercials all those years ago!

Our group of women is a mixture of people from here, not from here, old friends and new friends. The twins happen to be two of my oldest and dearest friends from high school. It was a pot luck dinner and I made the cake or should I say cakes. While trying to figure out what to do for the cake it dawned on me that perhaps they often have to share a cake and blow out the candles together. So I decided to make two rolled cakes so they each could have an obnoxious amount of candles to blow out all on their own. What a good friend I am!

Clearly one should be chocolate cake and the other white cake to satisfy the differing tastes of such a big group and to accomadate my need for BOTH. The chocolate would be rolled with fresh whipped cream and raspberry filling. For the white cake I decided to fill it with a lemon curd and brush the cake with a Malibu Rum simple syrup. One of the twins loves drinks made with Malibu Rum so I figured I'd give that a try. As you can tell, I am always trying to inject something new into recipes.

Both turned out really well and as you can see from the photos below, I got a lot of skinny candles in each one! Horrifying. I know.

TECHNIQUE

If you have never made a lemon curd or a rolled cake before you should put it on your list of things to try. They are both fairly easy to accomplish with care and attention.

The Curd is simply whisking eggs and egg yolks with sugar and lemon juice. Butter and gelatin are added at the end to help with the structure of the curd. I used a recipe on page 477 of Martha Stewart's Cooking School book which uses both eggs and egg yolks. The recipe below is from Gourmet courtesy of epicurious.com.

A rolled cake is simply a génoise cake batter baked in a thin layer for about 6 minutes and then rolled in a clean tea towel while warm. After the cake has cooled all rolled up, unroll it and fill it. Re-roll the cake and chill. It is really that simple. I used the génoise recipe on page 464 of Martha Stewart's Cooking School book.

Recipe below photographs.

lemons. some zested. juiced. curd. cake.
the confectioners' sugar balances the tart lemon so nicely.

whisking lemon curd. rolling up white génoise cake.

two cakes. twins.

*Monday's Upcoming Events Post will be rescheduled soon. Got busy preparing for the birthday party yesterday!*

Recipe Updates

2010-01-16T17:48:00.006-05:00

Each week I will be trying new recipes and if I don't have time to immediately update you all on how they went, I will do my best to do a weekly recipe recap on the weekend. So here we go...

On Monday I posted about Tweaking Sullivan Street Bakery Recipes but never gave you guys the results. Got too busy getting ready for The Martha Stewart Show!!

The folding of the edges several times during the rise worked well in bringing in more air bubbles.
After 15 or so hours of rising I had a nice dome under the tea towel covering the dough.
While I had the dough rising all day in a warm spot in our house, the chill overnight did some damage to the rise and air bubble factor. When I came down Tuesday morning it had clearly lost lots of its umph and all of its dome. Grr.
I preheated the oven to 500 degrees with the cast iron skillet on the bottom rack. Just after I slid the bread on the upper rack, I poured water into the hot hot skillet creating steam and quickly closed the oven door. I then turned the oven temp down to 450. I set the preheat temp to 500 because I knew the door would be open for a bit while I was pouring the water into the skillet and didn't want to lose too much heat in that process.
THE RESULTS: The crust was lighter and crispier than previous attempts and the interior definitely had more holes. However, it was still too dense in my opinion so I am going to keep trying.

The Roman Gnocchi Experiment

I am happy to report that the recipe I posted in 24 hours in Manhattan: a food & fun recap is a good one! I have tried it twice since yesterday and it turns out nice semolina gnocchi, which IMO are hardly gnocchi because they were too easy! Here are my thoughts:

The first batch I tried in a baking dish and they didn't brown all that well and took much longer in the oven than the recipe called for.
For the second batch (pictured), I decided to up the temp to 450 and I preheated my cast iron skillet so I could get a good bottom crust on these guys. Once the oven was preheated I took the skillet out, quickly doused it with olive oil and then slide the round "gnocchi" into the pan.
I returned the pan to the oven on the middle rack for about 15 minutes. I then put the pan on the bottom rack for about 5 minutes to get the bottoms good and browned, and then cranked the broiler to brown the tops.
THE RESULTS: A crispy top and bottom with a wonderfully creamy center. YUM!
I served it for lunch to the kids with some red sauce and they gobbled it up.

24 hours in Manhattan: a food & fun recap

2010-01-15T11:18:00.006-05:00

With guest confirmation emails in hand, my friend Gabi and I hit the road after school drop off here in the Boston area for a 4+ hour drive into the heart of Manhattan. We were headed to the special Martha Stewart Show on bloggers. The entire audience would not only be made up of crazy bloggers like us but we were all asked to blog throughout the show on our laptops or phones. Since we needed to be at the studio by 8:30 am we decided that an overnight in the big apple was in order.

We arrived by 1:00 pm and after a quick freshening up at the hotel, we hit the pavement to find some lunch. Gabi has not spent much time in NYC so it was a little daunting trying to choose where to take her. Since we only had one afternoon, we didn't have too much time to linger. Here is what we hit on our mad dash around town....

Lunch @ Le Pain Quotidien

A little look-see @ ABC Carpet and Home

Some fun purchases @ Fishs Eddy

A quick walk-in mani @ Dashing Diva Nails

Scouring racks and a boot purchase @ Century 21

Then it was back to the hotel to spruce up for dinner. With no reservations in hand (see this post) and the hour quickly approaching 8:00 pm, we realized that we were going to be lucky to even get a bar stool space.

Our patience and my flexibility paid off. As we were walking towards Union Square from our hotel we passed a restaurant called Almond. If it were not for a really cute Vespa parked outside I would have missed it all together. Neither the name nor the exterior were inviting enough to grab my attention but when we peered through the huge plate glass windows, we both decided that the bleached beach wood panel and toile paper covered walls seemed cozy enough to have a look at the menu. The menu, with it's decidedly french/italian slant, seemed fine enough but it was the stream of people flowing in that made us realize that a) people in this hood seem to like it and b) it may have the last available table we could find on short notice tonight. So we took the gamble and asked for a table for two. We didn't regret it.

Starters

Gabi's s: Brussels Sprouts Two Ways in a Caesar Style. The dish was beautiful and full of flavor.

Mine: Endive, Pear, walnut & Roquefort Salad. These are flavors that always please but the delivery could have been better. The endive was cut into awkward long slices about the same size as the pear. The two were disappointingly indistinguishable in the restaurant's low light. The walnuts were glazed with a sweet caramel which turned out to be the delight of the dish. Unfortunately, while the dressing had a light roquefort flavor, there should have been cheese crumbles on the dish. There were none.

Mains

Gabi's: Wednesday special of Shrimp Scampi via Risotto topped with onion rings. It was a home run. risotto was full of flavor and the shrimp delicious according to Gabi.

Mine: Heritage Pork Chop with Brussels Sprouts & Gnocco alla Roma. The chop was perfectly cooked with a slight pink hue to the moist and flavorful interior. The Gnocco was a large, about 2.5" in diameter, single gnocco, browned on both sides with a creamy, slightly cheesey flavor in the center. From what I am hearing, this is a take on a rapidly rising food trend in NYC. Gnocco alla Roma is just one of many menu items culled from the streets of Rome landing in NYC these days. In a NYT article just published this week on trendy Italian food moving away from the coveted Tuscan dishes to a decidedly Roman style, Roman Gnocchi were highlighted with both a clear description of how they differ from traditional gnocchi and a nice photo spread.

All in all, Almond was a good value for the money, not a seat at a special NYC foodie joint but it truly didn't disappoint. The meal had some very high points with some somewhat low points but the vibe combined with great service made it a restaurant I'd return to when back in Manhattan.

From my trusted friends at epicurious.com, here is a recipe I am going to try tonight. I will report back in the morning to let you all know how it turned out. And yes, of course, I'll provide pictures of the process!

Gnocchi Alla Romana

yield: Makes 6 first-course servings

Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 2 hr

3 cups whole milk
3/4 cup semolina (sometimes labeled "semolina flour"; resembles fine yellow cornmeal)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 oz finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (3/4 cup)
1 large egg

Whisk together milk, semolina, and 1 teaspoon salt in a 2-quart heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over moderate heat, whisking. Simmer, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until very stiff, 5 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 2 tablespoons butter and 3/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano. Beat in egg.
Spread gnocchi mixture 1/2 inch thick on an oiled baking sheet and chill, uncovered, until very firm, about 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 425°F.
Cut out rounds from gnocchi mixture with a 2-inch round cookie cutter (push scraps into remaining mixture as you go) and arrange, slightly overlapping, in a well-buttered 13- by 9-inch baking dish. Make a small second layer in center of dish with any remaining rounds. Brush gnocchi with remaining 1/4 cup melted butter and sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano.
Bake in middle of oven until gnocchi are beginning to brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Here are some snapshots of the set at The Martha Stewart Show...

What do you read?

2010-01-14T10:42:00.003-05:00

Of course a great question - always a great question- to ask any blogger is... what other blogs do you read? When posed this question by Martha, Jennifer and Alexis had very different answers.

Jennifer wanted to take the Sarah Palin route by saying she read everything but when pressed, came up with her top two. While I am close enough to interrupt the conversation by asking a question, I think I will refrain and instead guess that when Jennifer said she reads Rosie's Blog she means Rosie O'Donnell. I say this because Jennifer is witty and full of snark - perhaps like RD. She also says she reads the Daily Beast which I am pretty sure I got right.
Daily beast
Rosie's Blog

Alexis claims she doesn't read blogs and goes to just a few websites. She reluctantly agreed that she goes to Epiciurious, Saveur, Donna Hay, but really? She doesn't read blogs but writes one? Hum. That's no fun!

I'd love to know what blogs all of you read? Give me a shout - I always love new finds!

Is this her Second or First Blog show? We've heard both today.

2010-01-14T10:15:00.002-05:00

Martha has a really nice array of blog people up there on her panel. Martha's daughter Alexis Stewart, and her co-blogger Jennifer Koppleman Hutt who blog as the whatever girls, Andrew Ritchie who is from Toronto and blogs about all things Martha, Pim Techamuanvivit who is known as the Queen of food blogs with her Chez Pim, and Jeff Blumenkrantze who decided to cook his way through Martha's Cooking School book.

We are now at break and Martha is geeting ready to make Pad Thai with Pim. Now we have an OBSTRUCTED view as the cameras roll in front of us.

I also noticed during the break that the people in the back section where the stadium seats are just got a give-away. Very curious. Thinking the front rowers aren't going to get little morsels along the way as the show goes.

She's going to be very aware of you....

2010-01-14T09:57:00.000-05:00

Those were the words just spoken to us by a Martha Producer as we sit here in the Front Row! Yes the FRONT ROW people!!! Martha will begin the show right smack in front of us! Like two feet away! Ha!

Waiting

2010-01-14T08:35:00.000-05:00

The vibe in the waiting room is fun fun fun. It is so nice to be
surrounded by bloggers who understand your need to post. Much more fun
to come. Stay tuned

Restaurant find in NYC

2010-01-13T21:57:00.002-05:00

Growing up, my brother and I constantly heard from our father the
value of living by the 7 P's.
Proper prior planning prevents piss poor performance.

As a child it looked like for a lot of years as though this concept
was never going to hit home for me. Well at some point in my college
days it clicked and I have been an annoyingly prepared person ever
since. I fully know that I am never so annoying as during the
preparation to eat out in a city I am visiting. Just ask my husband.
As you all know I am in NYC for the night to attend the Martha Stewart
Show tomorrow and since I am with a dear friend I thought I'd be kind
and not freak her out with my obsessive restaurant research. So while
going with the flow we stumbled upon a restaurant on our way to one of
my old NYC haunts. It looked inviting. The decore was comfy and it was
moderately populated with seemingly educated people. So we gave it a
try. And we're so glad we did. I will write up a full review when I
get home from New York and can type it up on my computer instead of my
iPhone.

2010-01-13T13:00:00.001-05:00

Had something recently you loved?

Please share!

Here.....I'll start.

Name: Evodia

Year: 2008 Altovinum

Vintner: Unknown

Grape: 100% Granache (Garnacha)

Estate Bottled: No

Country of Origin: Spain

Imported by: European Cellars, LLC, Charlotte, NC

Price: $11.00

Info of Note on Bottle:

Custom Cuvee for Eric Solomon at European Cellars

Old Vines up to 100 Years Old

Mountain village of Atea, Spain

P & P Tasting Notes:

Good smooth Granache varietal. Drinkable with or without food. Have served with both chicken/pork dishes as well as some casual beef dishes. It feels low tannin, mildly spicy, earthy with a fruitiness that isn't overpowering. It has a nice finish that doesn't disappear as many others do in this price point.

Further information on this grape...

GRANACHE

"Used as a component in some Northern Rhône reds, nearly exclusively for Rhône rosés and as the primary component in nearly all Southern Rhône red blends, Grenache is probably most notable as the base varietal for Chateauneuf du Pape, Cotes du Rhône and Gigondas. In spite of its fame coming from French wines, Spain is most likely this grape's origin." - Winepros.org

Now it's your turn! Post your favorite grape du jour and link to me!

A blogging Business Trip!

2010-01-13T05:00:00.001-05:00

Blogging from the Audience @ The Martha Stewart Show

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Wooo Hooo! Follow along peeps!

The Blog Show with Brian Williams

Explore the blogosphere with Martha and blogger guests! NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams gives you a peek at how "The Daily Nightly" blog is written, "Martha Moments" creator Andrew Ritchie shows you how to use leftover yarn to embellish cards for any occasion, and "Cooking School" chronicler Jeff Blumenkrantz ("Jeff and Martha") is in the kitchen with Martha.

Nonna's Pasta Cavalofiore

2010-01-12T17:27:00.002-05:00

Well she's not my nonna, but I am sure by now she is someone's fantastic nonna. Who is she? Well, she is Franca, my Italian house mother from a term abroad I did in the Fall of 1992. Yup. You read that correctly, 1992. Don't even try to pretend you aren't doing the math to figure out just exactly how old I am. Save yourself the trouble, I'm 29. Seriously. Why would I lie?

While 1992 seems like a lifetime ago, I realized that Franca's Pasta Cavalofiore primi dish has been a staple in my culinary repertoire for all these years. It is a simple dish meant to be a primi served in advance of a proper secondi dish that blends wonderful seasonal fall flavors. We ate it often during the 10 weeks I had the good fortune to be living on the outskirts of Florence, Italy. Franca and her family grew and raised most of their own food. They were pioneers of the sustainable food movement. A few of my American housemates were not so thrilled to learn that not only were the veggies sourced from the back yard but the turkey was as well. I remember the moment distinctly as my classmates blanched at this realization driving Franca to lose it. Waving her finger at the lot of us yelling in Italian, What is wrong with you? You eat NOTHING! and then stopping herself to look directly at me to say Well, not you. You eat everything. Cauliflower was in season and it was a dish my housemates ate with pleasure so we had it often. Even so, we never tired of it.

After that term abroad, it became the staple of my diet throughout the remaining years of my undergraduate studies and into the early days of my marriage. It was the dish I used to introduce vegetables to my children who thought the cauliflower was funny looking pasta. When I was sure they were hooked on the dish I let the cat out of the bag that it was cauliflower. Then I introduced broccoli as cauliflower's brother. Suffice it to say, this dish has carried me through some wonderful years of my life.

If I know I am going to have a busy week like this one, I always toss a cauliflower in my basket at the market. I never know which night I am going to need the fast, but good, food help. Tonight it is going to help me get a good dish on the table as I dash out the door for a PTO meeting. My husband and I will cross paths for exactly 20 minutes tonight and we feel it is very important to share our evening meal as a family. Pasta Cavalofiore takes the dinner-prep-on-a-busy-night edge off so we can all enjoy a quick meal together updating each other on our day.

Tonight I have updated the dish a little adding crispy pancetta and edamame.

Recipe

Pasta Cavalofiore

A great pasta dish you can do on the fly ...

See Pasta Cavalofiore on Key Ingredient.

Tweaking Sullivan Street Bakery Recipes

2010-01-11T12:00:00.005-05:00

It's early. I hear my husband stirring getting ready for work and I look at my iPhone/alarm clock/everything else and see that it is 5:45 am. However unappealing it is to climb out of my warm bed, there really is no better time to get fresh bread started.

I shuffle downstairs to a very cold kitchen and decide to warm up a cup of yesterday's coffee b/c I just can't wait for a new pot to brew. Today I have decided to play with one of Jim Lahey's "no-knead" bread recipes from his Sullivan Street Bakery cookbook. Last summer my family had the incredible fortune to live in Paris for 3 months while my husband worked on a European-based project for his company. We quickly became addicted to vrai french baguettes which was a hard habit to break once we landed back home in October. After trolling my entire area sampling all the "baguettes" nearby, I realized no one is doing it right around here. Some are too sourdough in flavor, some have too much crust, all of them have dense interiors with not enough holes, and most others are just plain undercooked or bland. While we have some artisan bakers up here, IMO they are not doing a good enough job of pumping out authentic french baguette. Maybe that's not their goal. The best I can find close to home are the baguettes at Whole Foods but the best I have found since returning states-side are those at Isabelle et Vincent in Fairfield, CT. They are a true french boulangerie/patisserie and bake their flavorful baguette all day long so nearly anytime you walk in you can ask for a warm stick of bread right from the oven. Trips to Isabelle et Vincent have now become a regular occurance when we visit our dear friends in Fairfield.

A few weeks ago, my sister-in-law emailed me an article, found here, discussing tweeking Jim Lahey's recipe to get a bread that has a thinner crust and more holes. Although I am pleased with the flavor of the Sullivan Street Bakery recipes, I'd love to see if I could make them a bit more eh, how do we say, uh, French!

So while the sky warms its horizon with shades of pink and begins to light up my snow covered back yard, I get to work on combining the 400g of bread flour, 8g of table salt, 1g yeast, and 300g of water. Today though I add in an extra splash of water to make the dough a bit more moist.

I am going to let this thing rise for a full 24 hours this time and during that time I am going to fold the edges in on the bread as the article suggests. Tomorrow when I get around to baking it off, I will try to get some steam action going in my very hot oven. Since I have two ovens, I thought it would be a good experiment to do one with steam i.e. a pan of water at the bottom of the oven, and one dry. Unfortunately, I only have one baguette form pan. Maybe I'll bake them off separately since they don't take too long.

Until tomorrow....

French Cheese Fondue

2010-01-10T20:30:00.003-05:00

Or also known as Fondue Savoyarde, is perfect for a cold winter day!

It is chilly in these parts and I was inspired by The Passionate Foodie's post about the Beacon Hill Bistro now offering Fondue as part of their Sunday Evening menu. Apparently this offering begins today and will last through much of the winter. Click the BHB logo below for more information.

Cheese fondue is not hard to make and doesn't take much time. You should have however an enamel or cast iron fondue pot instead of a metal one. The latter is better for meat fondues cooked in oil or broths.

Pair a Fondue Savoyarde with a roasted chicken and a salad and you won't feel so overstuffed at the end of your meal. Here are some snapshots of our dinner tonight and the recipe below....

French Cheese Fondue

What's better on a winter night than bread, potatoes ...

See French Cheese Fondue on Key Ingredient.

Click HERE for more information on the history of cheese fondue and its variations.