Cocoa and Lavender

My Best Quiche

noreply@blogger.com (Cocoa and Lavender) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 18:27:00 +0000

Why is it that "real men don't eat quiche?” Back in the early 1980s, Bruce Feirstein wrote a book of that title. It was a humorous book, taking jabs at sensitive New Age men who took pride in their role reversals – raising the children, cooking, washing dishes, doing laundry - basically, catering to their female partners. While this book was written tongue-in-cheek, it has stayed with us and, to this day, I still hear, “Real men don’t eat quiche.”

Well, I like quiche. And I’m a man. But, strangely, I haven't made a quiche in many years. I don't think it was for dietetic reasons - perhaps the timing or mood was never just right. Recently, we wanted to take lunch to a friend of ours and somehow quiche seemed to be the perfect thing. I could make it at home, transport it in my Aunt Nell's pie basket still warm, and serve it upon arrival. (Come on – doesn’t every real man on the block has his aunt’s pie basket?)

One of the inspirations for making this particular quiche was the fact that we had unbelievable amounts of cheese on hand from the holidays, much of it cheddar. I have never had a cheddar quiche - mostly I have made and eaten traditional French versions using Gruyère and sautéed onions, sometimes with lardons or ham. I even did a post on one of my favorites - tarte à l'oignon. But, since cheddar was on hand, that is what I made.

When trying to decide what flavorings would accompany the cheddar in the quiche, my first thought was thyme. But I then recalled a cheddar cracker recipe I make that uses rosemary. Rosemary is abundant here in Tucson and much more easily harvested than the tiny thyme leaves, so I chose rosemary to go with the cheddar. And I used a lot. So much so that I began to worry that I had used too much when I could smell it baking even when I was sitting outdoors in the garden! But I went ahead and served it and it tasted great! In fact, I have made it twice since then.

The combination of cream, skim milk and eggs made a custard that was so delicate - probably the best quiche I have ever made. And the funny thing is that I based the entire recipe on the ingredients I had on hand - some cream, fat-free milk, only 5 eggs (one needed for the crust) and the cheese. Even though I chalk this up to serendipity, from now on, this will be the custard recipe I will used to make my quiches!

So, guys... make a quiche, serve it with a salad and take it like a man!

- David

Rosemary Cheddar Quiche

Pastry

1 1/3 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons butter, chilled

1 egg, separated

3 tablespoons ice water

Preheat the oven to 425ºF.

In a food processor, pulse the flour and salt. Add the chilled butter in 16 pieces and pulse 10-12 times until mixture resembles coarse meal. Mix the egg yolk with 3 tablespoons ice water and pour evenly over flour and butter mixture. Pulse 3 times to distribute liquid then process until dough comes together in a ball around the blade. Quickly roll out dough to a 13-inch circle and fit into a 10-inch pie plate or quiche mold, doubling over the sides and crimping loosely.

Prick the bottom of the pastry all over with a fork, cover with foil or parchment and fill with pie weights (I use dried beans). Bake 9 minutes, then remove the liner and pie weights. Bake 3 additional minutes and remove from the oven (do not turn off oven). Immediately brush the hot crust with egg white. (Use remaining egg white for another purpose.)

While crust is baking, put together filling.

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup fat-free milk

4 large eggs

3 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese

Whisk together cream, milk, eggs, rosemary, salt and pepper. When crust is ready to fill (having been brushed with egg white), spread the grated cheese over the bottom, then pour cream and egg mixture over top.

Bake at 425ºF for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350ºF. Continue to bake for 25 more minutes until golden brown and custard is mostly set. (The center will still be a little loose - it will firm up as it cools.) Let sit 5 minutes before serving. It can also be served warm or at room temperature.

Serves 6-8.

Summer Dreams: Pesto à Presto

noreply@blogger.com (Cocoa and Lavender) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 16:18:00 +0000

During our long, dark winters back in Maine, one of the things that brought back the essence summer faster than a black fly bite was the taste of pesto. Each year, we would grow several rows of basil in our herb garden and, at the warning of the first frost in September, we would hurriedly pick all the leaves and make batches of pesto to freeze. Then, sometime around mid-January, when we were just beginning to feel as if winter would never end, we would take out a container of pesto from the freezer and have a little summer-fest by the fireside.

Here in the Tucson desert, our summer season for basil is extended and, with some care during frosts, can be year-round! But this past weekend, we decided to harvest all our plants (some of which were several years old and had grown woody stems), make several batches of pesto, and then plant anew - both with seeds given by our friend Laura from Renée's Garden, and with new plants from the nursery. This was done, of course, while enjoying some homemade bread and wine, and while Mark read to me experts from The Enchantress of Florence.

I began making pesto sometime in the mid-1980s. Like everyone, I was hooked on this sauce. At that time, I ate garlic like it was candy but, soon thereafter, developed an allergy and had to give it up. Did I just hear you gasp??? You know, at first it sounded terrible to me, too, but in eliminating this one branch of the allium family from my diet, my taste buds were awakened to an amazing array of flavors that had been overpowered by garlic, and pesto was one of them. Suddenly, the basil, cheese and subtle pine nut flavors were really prominent.

An aside about this allergy: I used to miss garlic but, over time, I have discovered so many ways of flavoring foods that if I could eat it again I probably would choose not to. However, being able to eat it safely would make dining out easier. When we dine out, chefs who say, "There is no garlic in this dish," often neglect to notice the garlic in the Worcestershire sauce, mustard, etc. No, it isn't deadly in those quantities but it is quite unpleasant for several hours afterward.

So, back to pesto. When I first visited Liguria in the late 1980s - the birthplace of pesto as we know it - I was not able to eat pesto because of the garlic. In fact, I had given up the hope that I would ever be able to eat it again. But, one day, while walking through the streets of Vernazza, I came across an elderly woman stripping basil for pesto on her front stoop. I stopped and chatted with her in my kindergarten Italian, and asked how she made her pesto. "Basilico, pignoli, formaggio, olio, sale e una noce di burro" – basil, pine nuts, cheese, oil and a nut of butter. "Aglio?" Garlic? I asked? No, she said, her husband didn't like it! For me, this was a revelation. It had never occurred to me that I could still make pesto - or any recipe - by simply omitting the garlic. My last question for her was about the butter - I had never heard of that. Butter, she asserted, rounds out the flavors and keeps it green.

"Nonna" - my name for my freind in Vernazza, as I never got her name and I assume she is someone's nonna - made her pesto in a large mortar and pestle. Pestle... Pesto... Of course! The light dawned. The name comes from the Genoese word pestâ (Italian: pestare), which means to pound, to crush, in reference to the original method of preparation which used a marble mortar and wooden pestle. However, the ingredients in a traditionally made pesto are not "pounded" but "ground" with a circular motion of the pestle in the mortar. This same Latin root through Old French also gave rise to the English word pestle.

While I actually have a marble mortar and wooden pestle from Liguria, it is small and I have never attempted this traditional method. I am definitely a child of the food processor generation (Generation Purée) and the processor works beautifully!

Sometimes I use the butter and, at other times, I don't. Either way it is delicious, simple and summery. The last time I served pasta al pesto in the summer, I topped it with a few halved grape tomatoes which I had quickly marinated with olive oil and saffron. What a nice combination, both for taste and color!

One of our favorite hors d'oeuvres are these little "caprese bites" - large cherry tomatoes with the insides scooped out, a small dab - about 1/8 teaspoon - pesto inserted and then topped with a mozzarella chunk, topped with salt and freshly ground black pepper. They are tasty and easily made in advance. Serve on a bed of lemon leaves, or leafy green lettuce.

So, here is what I learned from Nonna, translated from her folk measurements to something you can count on. Her measurements appear first in blue.

Buon appetito, and happy summer in winter!

~ David

Nonna's Pesto

4 large handfuls basil leaves, 1 large handful pignoli, 2 large handfuls grated cheese, a wine glass (she used a tumbler) olive oil,

a pinch of salt and a nut of butter

4 cups packed basil leaves, washed and dried
1/4 cup pignoli (pine nuts)
2 ounces grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/2 - 3/4 teaspoon salt (to taste)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1-2 tablespoons softened unsalted butter (optional)

Place the basil on the bowl of the food processor. Sprinkle with the pignoli, cheese and salt. Pulse 12-15 times. Wipe down the sides of the processor and pulse 5 times. Add the olive oil and butter, and process for 10 seconds, wipe down the sides of the processor, and finish with another 5-10 seconds processing. Divide into glass jars and top with a thin coating of olive oil. Even with Nonna’s butter, it still oxidizes quickly! Store in the refrigerator or freeze in serving-size batches.

Chocolate Melting Cakes

noreply@blogger.com (Cocoa and Lavender) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 00:03:00 +0000

It's two weeks into the new year and the "healthy diet" is not going so well. The "clean eating" regimen, where I flush the toxins out of my system by eating sweet potatoes for breakfast and avoiding wheat and dairy (i.e. pasta and cheese)? Ditched that after three days. On a positive note, I'm drinking green tea instead of coffee but otherwise - happily - back to my old habits. Which are good ones excepting the Krackel and Mr. Goodbar minis that I've picked clean from the bowl at work.

Tomorrow is my brother's birthday - the big 5-0. As the older sister by five years, that puts me on a slippery slide toward a milestone I can't bear to contemplate at the moment. But that's a conversation for another time and perhaps upon reflection I'll reconsider the toxin flush. At our family dinner yesterday, George advised me that the holiday season of indulgence and Greek pastry - for him - doesn't end until January 18th. Love that idea.

I made chocolate melting cakes, (or molten cakes) for the birthday boy and debated whether to post them here. They've been around for awhile but so easy and so good - with their pudding-like centers - that I thought they were worth another mention. This is a combination of two recipes and perfect for a dinner party since you can prepare them ahead and pop them in the oven while coffee is brewing. Lovely with a little scoop of raspberry sorbet. Enjoy.

CHOCOLATE MELTING CAKES

10 ounces semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons cognac

5 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

Confectioners sugar

Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly coat a 12-cup muffin tin with vegetable cooking spray. Melt the chocolate, butter and cognac in a medium bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Remove from heat.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar at medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add the flour, baking powder, salt and melted chocolate. Mix with a spoon until well blended.

Divide the batter evenly into 10 muffin tins and bake until the cakes have just cooked through, about 15 minutes. The cakes will still look a bit moist on top. Remove from the oven and let cool 5 minutes. Dust with confectioners sugar and serve warm.

Makes 10 cakes.

The Unbearable Lite-ness of Eating

noreply@blogger.com (Cocoa and Lavender) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 00:53:00 +0000

Sadly, our diets must return, and this post should be titled, "The Unbearableness of Eating Lite-ly." No, we aren't in awful shape and we have generally been fairly good boys, but if Santa had been making his list based on our diets, we definitely might have come under the "naughty" category this year. An example: I am writing this on Christmas day and we just finished a lovely herb and cheese soufflé, butter lettuce salad and some nice wine in the garden for lunch.

While this meal is not bad, it simply isn't what the doctor ordered. Perhaps just having a salad would have been better? Some restraint must be shown or we will be out shopping the post-holiday sales, looking for pants with larger waistbands, longer belts or anything that we can wear that doesn't bind at the waist. Muumuus come to mind but they might not be the best thing for the office.

I did make one concession with the soufflé today - I used 1% milk rather than whole and that does make a difference in the calorie count. But there are certain things I cannot and will not give up: butter (no margarine, thank you), cheese (no lite versions here, either), and eggs (isn't "egg substitute" an oxymoron???).

[Please forgive me this aside: I want to add here that I truly dislike the ubiquitous use of the word "lite" found in our grocery stores these days. It often misleads consumers into buying a product that may well have fewer calories but, in so many cases, exchanges those calories for something much more unhealthy. Artificial sweeteners come to mind first, but there are many other additives about which we need be aware. Please, dear readers, check your labels and make sure you know what you are buying and - more important - what you are eating!]

This soufflé recipe is my little go-to miracle for a last minute, easy to make supper that has all the comforts that go with the word "Mom" and, at the same time, all the sophistication of the French table. The recipe is based on Jacques Pépin's mother's recipe printed in his autobiography entitled, "The Apprentice." I would call this soufflé a "country" version as it isn't fancy at all.

As I can never leave any recipe untouched, I have added my own minor edits and additions to this soufflé but must say that Jacques' mother was a genius. I have avoided soufflés for years because they are fussy, mercurial, time-consuming, kitchen-messing conglomerations that generally fall prior to guest viewing, and then we all end up with a dry, styrofoam-y texture that just spells f-a-i-l-u-r-e. Jacques' mother's recipe, however, takes away all the stress. No whites are beaten till stiff. No need for last minute fussing while guests wonder to where you have disappeared. No dry texture. While it might not rise four inches above the mold, it is indescribably delicious, has a melt-in-your-mouth texture, and - above all - is a very forgiving recipe from beginning to end.

My changes? Nothing radical. Jacques' mother calls for 5 extra large eggs; I use 6 large eggs. Her version calls for Swiss cheese; I always use Gruyère. As I mentioned, I changed from whole milk to 1% milk. Finally, her version has a mere couple tablespoons of chopped chives; I add about 3/4 cup mixed chopped herbs - usually a mixture of tarragon, chives, parsley, heavy on the tarragon.

This soufflé recipe has never let me down. It can be prepared in advance, making for easy entertaining. Here, I am reminded of Susan's recent post on The ModernTrobadors. She writes of Adam Gopnik's new book, The Table Comes First, and uses a quote from Mr. Gopnik about having things ready for guests:

And we pray, too, that [our friends] will have finished cooking before we arrive, so that the horrible hour in the kitchen, as they fuss and mix, is one that we are spared. Even with a glass of wine in hand, it is hard to watch another cook—and when they have the food still in plastic wrap…it’s too much. (p. 85)

I have been asked for this recipe many times and am happy to share, with the sincere suggestion that everyone read Jacques' book, as it is a wonderful memoir with quite a few delicious recipes thrown in for good measure.

The ceramic soufflé dish I used was, once again, made by our very talented friend Lila. I asked if she would be willing to create a soufflé dish for me that replicated my standard-issue, fluted (and cracked) dish and she came to dinner one evening with armloads of them! I chose two and love how they make the soufflé look when presented at the table. Thanks, Lila!

Bon appétit from me and Jacques' mom!

~ David

Country Cheese and Herb Soufflé

6 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 tablespoons flour
2 cups 1% milk
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon pepper
6 large eggs
3/4 cup chopped fresh herbs (1/4 cup each tarragon, chives and parsley)
6 ounces Gruyère cheese, grated

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Generously butter a soufflé dish and set aside.

Heat the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes to cook the flour. All at once add the milk and whisk vigorously over the heat until mixture has the consistency of thickened cream - about 3-4 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the salt and pepper. Set aside and let cool 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk eggs till well-blended. Add the chopped herbs and whisk well to evenly distribute the herbs.

Add the egg mixture to the white sauce and whisk to blend. Using a wooden spoon, fold in the grated cheese and pour mixture in the prepared soufflé dish. (Here is my favorite part of the recipe: you can now let this sit for 1-2 hours before baking it! All the mess can be gone by the time your guests arrive! Talk about a forgiving recipe!)

Bake soufflé in the center of the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes until golden brown, cracking slightly on top and bubbling around the edges.

Serves 4 as a main course.

Cranberry Scones

noreply@blogger.com (Cocoa and Lavender) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 18:43:00 +0000

“I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says "Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.”
― Lewis Carroll Through the Looking-Glass

I hope you're having a warm and gentle beginning to the new year. A cup of tea and a scone, or two, is just the ticket while pondering those resolutions. This recipe for scones is adapted from one printed in Bon Appetit many years ago, and I love how light and flaky they are. Enjoy.

CRANBERRY SCONES
Makes 12

2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2/3 cup dried cranberries

2 large eggs
2/3 cup chilled sour cream
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Demerara sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Whisk first 5 ingredients in large bowl to blend. Rub in butter with fingertips or pastry blender until mixture resembles fine meal. Mix in cranberries.

Separate 1 egg; place white in small bowl and reserve. Place yolk in medium bowl; add whole egg, sour cream and vanilla, and whisk together. Gently stir sour cream mixture into flour mixture (dough will be very moist). Turn dough out onto generously floured work surface. Divide dough in half. Press each half into a 6-inch round about 1/2 inch thick. Cut each round into 6 wedges. Beat reserved egg white until foamy; brush over wedges. Sprinkle with sugar. Transfer wedges to baking sheet, spacing 1 inch apart.

Bake scones until pale golden and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes. Serve scones warm or at room temperature.

Let's Raise a Glass!

noreply@blogger.com (Cocoa and Lavender) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 14:13:00 +0000

A couple of weeks ago, friends Susan and Towny posted about verrines (de Noël) on The Modern Trobadors. It was with them that Mark and I had our first official verrines while dining is Provence - both in Roussillon and in Ansuois - for my 50th birthday celebration. I say that these were our first official verrines because I have been serving verrines for years, unaware that they had a name, and were going to be fashionable in France a decade later.

Verrines are a wonderful way to serve a small and exquisite opener for your meal - something larger than an amuse-bouche, yet smaller than a first course. Most of all, to me, they are about beauty. ... Simply translated from French, verrine means “glass casing.” The glass allows its contents to shine. A well crafted verrine is the Fabergé egg of the meal.

I served my first verrines sometime around the year 2000. My employer at the time - the director of The Children's Museum of New Hampshire - and her husband asked me if I would create a dinner for them and their important guests from Japan (the Japanese consul to Boston and his wife). I created a meal that was American in its ingredients yet Japanese in its presentation - small portions, delicately prepared and (I hope) beautiful both to their eyes and their palates. The first course at the table was a set of three tiny verrines per person. They were tomato-thyme, yellow bell pepper-bay laurel and sweet pea-tarragon soups - red, yellow and green.

They were a hit with the Japanese Consul, and it was the Japanese-style serving that made me think, "This is a great way to start a meal!" Since then, I have used verrines for openers, accompaniments, palate cleansers and desserts. As a chef, your only limit is your imagination!

One can buy official glassware called verrines, but my guess is that you already have any number of appropriate vessels in your cupboard. I raided our cabinets and found all you see in this post, and I didn't got them all. For the most part, a verrine should be clear glass, not etched, but I think that certain recipes might work well with something etched or faceted. Also, they should be small - slightly larger than a shot glass.

Susan and Towny gave me a verrines cookbook for my birthday, and it's full of creative ideas for flavor combinations and stunningly beautiful presentations. But, in reading - and observing - it is more than flavors and visual harmony that are combined. Texture plays a leading role, too. From the very simple things such as a deconstructed guacamole or tuna tartare with tomatoes and capers to those requiring a little more preparation such as a bavarois of Roquefort, grapes and walnuts, or a mousse of cèpes (porcini mushrooms) with slices of seared foie gras, one can feel the different components as much as seeing and tasting them. The book also has quite a few nice dessert combinations.

Tonight, for our Christmas Eve dinner, we are gathering our good friends for a celebration. Two are bringing hors d'oeuvres, the soup and main course (langoustine tails with fennel, tomato and saffron in puff pastry boxes) are my offering, Another guest is bringing a salad and one is bringing desserts - she has dropped tantalizing hints of mince tartlets or plum pudding!

I have made two contrasting soups for for the first course - bright green sweet pea soup and deep red-magenta beet vichyssoise based on recipes from the Silver Palate. I usually serve them in one shallow bowl with both soups meeting in the middle. There are several ways to present them as verrines, though. One way is to serve two shot glasses per person side by side, as I did for my Japanesque meal. Another way is to layer them. First, freeze the bottom layer for 30 minutes then carefully add the second layer; keep them chilled in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Then, as shown, garnish with a few chopped chives and tiny swirl of crème fraîche.

I also created a new verrine for Mark’s birthday - a mousse of creamy Cambozola cheese topped with tiny cubes of spiced rosé gelée, and garnished with crystallized rosemary leaves. The combination of the crunchy sweet rosemary leaves, the color and slight resistance of the spiced rosé gelée and the complete acquiescence of the mousse made for a lovely beginning to a special fireside evening!

So, look at some of your favorite first-course recipes, side dishes and desserts and see what you can figure out for a verrine presentation. Then, check out your china cabinet for some special glassware. (Or, is this the perfect excuse for a "to me, from me, love me" gift - a shopportunity?) No matter what you do, I am sure your guests will enjoy this unique, creative and attractive way to begin a meal at your table.

Doreen and I send all our best wishes to you and yours for a safe, peaceful and joy-filled holiday season – and a gastronomically adventurous (and tasty) New Year!

~ David

Verrine of Cambozola Mousse, Spiced Rosé Gelée & Crystallized Rosemary

1 cup rosé wine (not white zinfandel)

1/2 cup sugar

2-3 segments star anise

1 packet unflavored gelatin

3 tablespoons cold water

2 egg whites

4 small rosemary sprigs – tips only

2 teaspoons sugar
6 ounces Cambozola cheese (weighed after rind is removed),

at room temperature

1/4 cup light cream or half-and-half

Lightly oil a 5-inch by 8-inch non-reactive baking pan. Line the bottom and two sides with parchment. Lightly oil the parchment.

Bring rosé, sugar and star anise to a boil in a small saucepan over high heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Lower heat and simmer about 8 minutes, and wine mixture is reduced to 1 cup. Remove from heat and discard star anise.

Sprinkle gelatin over the water in a small bowl and let sit for 1 minute to soften. Stir into the hot rosé mixture until gelatin dissolves completely. Pour into the baking pan and chill at least 8 hours. (May be made one day in advance.)

Place the egg whites in a medium mixing bowl. Place a small sheet of waxed paper or parchment on the counter.

Dip rosemary sprigs in the whites and shake to remove excess egg white. Then, sprinkle each with sugar until well coated. Place on waxed paper and set aside to dry. Discard sugar that did not adhere. (May be made one day in advance.)

Using a hand-held mixer, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, using the same beaters (no need to wash), beat the cheese until smooth (the veins of blue cheese will still be somewhat lumpy), then slowly beat in the light cream until smooth and creamy. Take a third of the beaten whites and stir in to loosen the cheese mixture. Then gently fold in remaining whites until fully incorporated.

Divide mixture among 4 verrines. Remove gelée from the refrigerator and unmold using a thin spatula to release the sides and using the parchment to lift out onto a cutting board. Using a lightly oiled sharp knife, cut gelée into 1/4-inch cubes and divide among the four glasses. Cover verrines in plastic and refrigerate until ready to serve. 20 minutes before serving, bring them to room temperature. Top each with a spring of crystallized rosemary and serve, preferably with a Sauternes.

Garlic Confit

noreply@blogger.com (Cocoa and Lavender) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 19:14:00 +0000

Earlier this month, I spent a business weekend on Cape Cod. I've lived in New England all my life, have traveled north, south, west and abroad numerous times, but had never visited this crooked arm that juts into the Atlantic Ocean.

Holiday decorating is taken very seriously. I could hardly wait to come home and adorn my own nest.

And now with Christmas only a week away, this morning I decided it was time to do something with the dozen canning jars I had bought. A food gift that required a minimal amount of time fit the bill nicely.

If you don't mind peeling lots of garlic, this recipe from Food & Wine may be the perfect solution for those people to whom you want to give a little something.

This is a first try and I'm imagining how creamy and delicious a few of the cloves will taste smeared on bruschetta. The oil, too, should be wonderful for mopping up with a baguette.

Tomorrow I'll buy bright red ribbons and tie the jars into cellophane bags. Voila! They'll be ready to deliver.

I hope you and your families have a joyous Christmas and a prosperous New Year!

GARLIC CONFIT
from FOOD & WINE, October 2011

6 heads garlic
6 thyme sprigs
3 small bay leaves
3 dried red chilies
2 cups pure olive oil

Peel the garlic cloves from the heads - you will have approximately two cups. In a medium saucepan, combine the garlic cloves, thyme sprigs, bay leaves, chilies and olive oil. Simmer over low heat until the garlic is tender but not browned, about 30 minutes. Let cool.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the garlic, herbs and chilies into three 1/2-pint canning jars. Pour the cooking oil on top, seal and keep refrigerated. NOTE: While the recipe states these may be refrigerated for up to four months, I'll suggest using them within a few weeks.

HOW TO USE:
Mash the garlic into butter and spread on bread, or slip under chicken skin before roasting.

Gnocchi: if at first you don't succeed...

noreply@blogger.com (Cocoa and Lavender) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 04:52:00 +0000

... try, try again. Isn't that the truth!

One of my favorite vehicles for pesto is homemade potato gnocchi (pronounced NYO-key). The ridges created by the gnocchi board - or the tines of a fork - provide the perfect nooks and crannies for catching all that basil-y goodness, augmented by pine nuts and Parmigiano-Reggiano. The pesto making is easy.... but not so much the gnocchi!

My first foray into gnocchi making was a true disaster. I found a recipe for pumpkin gnocchi in an Italian cookbook and wanted to make them for my friend Susan (principal cellist of the Albany Symphony Orchestra) and her boyfriend, as she had given me the book for my birthday. Never being shy about testing recipes on friends, I forged ahead. The recipe said to mix the pumpkin with flour and egg until a soft dough forms, adding "1 or 2 tablespoons of flour" so that the dough isn't too soft. Never having done this, I made some not very good assumptions about what "soft dough" meant.

I kept adding flour until it felt, to me, like a decent "soft dough." I set them on waxed paper to rest and went about making a brown butter sauce with sage. I then boiled them following the instructions and they floated to the surface as promised. I bathed them in brown butter and sage, and presented them proudly at the table with slivers of smoked ricotta cheese.

First bite... Rubber? No, wait... more like silicon. They were truly awful. I offered to take the plates and make something else but they, being ever so polite, kept on eating the little doorstops and exclaiming that the "flavor" was wonderful (even if the texture worried them in terms of future digestive issues...).

My second attempt was not much better. Mark and I were in Montalcino, Tuscany, with a group of friends - about 12 in all. His cousin Cathy offered to make her famous vodka sauce and I volunteered to make gnocchi. Knowing my prior mistake of adding too much flour, I assumed a tweak here and there would take care of it.

Little did I know that the opposite of "too much flour" yields an even less-satisfying result. Again, they looked great before being cooked but once they hit the water, many of them fell to pieces creating starchy potato water. Enough dumplings survived to feed the masses but I can still feel the sting of failure even today.

Recently, San Diego friends David and David visited us in Arizona. One of the Davids (I will keep this simple) is a CIA (Culinary Institute of America) graduate, and I asked his help in getting my gnocchi to the right consistency. With David's expertise, suddenly perfect gnocchi were no longer a dream to chase.

The advice? Knead the dough gently and get it to the point where it feels "silky" or "satiny" as it would for any bread dough - and when you poke it with your finger, the indent lingers a bit and springs back somewhat simultaneously. Voila!

The rolling of the gnocchi was also a mystery for a while but, once I saw it happen, it made perfect sense. Check out the photo sequence above (thanks to Mark!) and, if using the tines of a fork, follow the same directions. I tend to make a lot at once and then freeze them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment. Once frozen, I put them in freezer bags and take them out as needed.

One more secret to making perfect gnocchi: don't crowd the pot when boiling them. Adding too many at once, especially if frozen, will lower the water temperature, they won't boil properly and they will fall apart.

I like to serve regular gnocchi with either a simple basil pesto or with brown butter, sage and Parmigiano-Reggiano. It is also traditional to serve them with a tomato sauce, and I particularly like Marcella Hazan's buttery tomato sauce.

Buon appetito!

- David

Potato Gnocchi - Gnocchi di Patate

2 large baking potatoes (I used russet potatoes), about 2 pounds total
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 to 2 cups flour

Boil the potatoes whole in lightly salted water until tender and easily pierced with a sharp knife - about 45 minutes. Drain.

As soon as you can hold them (I suggest using a pot holder or kitchen mitt), peel them and put them through a ricer onto a large wooden board. Sprinkle with the salt, then add eggs and 1 1/2 cups flour and, using a dough scraper and your hands, start mixing the ingredients together to form a soft dough. Continue to add the remaining flour as needed, kneading lightly as you go, until you have a dough that isn't sticky, feels satiny and, when pressed with a finger, springs back slightly yet leaves some of the indentation. Cover the dough with a dampened kitchen towel and let rest for 10-15 minutes.

Pull off a small hunk of dough and re-cover the remaining dough with the towel. Gently roll the piece into a 3/4-inch "snake" as shows above. Using the dough scraper, cut the snake into 3/4-inch pieces. Using well floured hands (and continue to flour them as needed) and, using your thumb and forefinger, take a dumpling and roll it down the gnocchi board (or the tines of a dinner fork), pushing in with your thumb as you go to create a small hollow (as shown above). Place finished gnocchi on a baking sheet.

If you are not planning to use them (or maybe not all of them) right away, freeze them on the baking sheet. When completely frozen, they will come off the sheet easily and can be stored in bags or other containers until needed.

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

To cook the gnocchi, bring a large, wide pot of salted water to a boil. Cook gnocchi 10-15 at a time (if cooking frozen ones, cook fewer as not to lower the water temperature) and let them boil until they float. Remove them from the pan with a slotted spoon and place them in buttered (or oiled, depending on which sauce you want to use) baking dish, adding more butter or oil to them to prevent them for sticking. Place the baking dish in the oven to keep warm while you cook the others using the same method.

When all gnocchi have been cooked, toss them with your favorite sauce - or simply butter and Parmigiano-Reggiano - and serve.

Recipe makes approximately 70-80 gnocchi. I use about 9-10 gnocchi for a first course serving.

By the Fireside

noreply@blogger.com (Cocoa and Lavender) — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 14:38:00 +0000

Yes, we live in Tucson. Yes, it is in the Sonoran Desert. Yes, we get more sunshine than most places in the world. But, alas, from time to time we also get cold and rainy days... well, relatively cold and rainy for us. Several weeks ago we had a whole weekend of gloomy, gray, wet weather. When we first moved here, a three-day stretch of clouds and rain would have sent us into therapy. But, having been here six years now, we find the clouds and rain delightful, and it helps us to know that these winter rains will bring good spring wildflowers. Also, we are confident that abundant sunshine is just around the bend. As for the cold? No longer hardened Maine-iacs, we now whimper a little when the mercury plummets below 50º Fahrenheit, and then we light a fire in the fireplace.

Incidentally, back East, when the mercury would finally reach 50ºF (10ºC), we'd run around the house and throw open the windows and doors to admit the "warm" spring air. My, oh my, how times have changed! We would have been laughed out of Maine had we lit a fire when it was a mere 50ºF!

To me, one of the most perfect fireside meals is a bowl of hearty soup, with homemade bread and a glass of wine. That is exactly what we have done this weekend.

I will start with the bread, as you need to begin the process early in the morning. One day I was going through my recipe files and found five recipes for "no-knead bread." I think one of the versions originated in the NY Times, but I don't know for sure. The funny thing is that each of the five recipes is different in its details. (By the way, I don't think there is anything wrong with kneading dough to make bread, but when I am working, bread making during the week is impractical.)

The recipe below is a little culinary miracle. First, it requires no kneading, and second, it sits unattended all day while I am at work. Third, and truly most important of all, after years of attempting to replicate my mother's French bread, I stumbled across this recipe which is close to hers, both in crust and crumb.

The basic equipment for this recipe a Dutch oven, or covered kettle that can be pre-heated in a 450ºF oven while empty. Be very careful to choose a glass, ceramic or cast-iron vessel that won’t crack under such heat.

I have modified the recipe using bits and pieces of the five different recipes and added my own two cents where I feel it makes a difference. I cannot recommend this bread highly enough!

On to the star of the post: the soup! For my birthday in August, our friends Susan and Towny (The Modern Trobadors - great post this week about French pharmacies!) sent me a grain which looks similar to farro, or spelt. It is called petit épeautre. And, while related to spelt (they are two different species in the wheat genus Triticum), petit épeautre - or einkorn - is genetically somewhat different. You can find more information on the website for the Syndicat du petit épeautre de Haute Provence.

This little grain makes a wonderfully hearty soup, akin to the Italian zuppa di farro. The website contains some recipes, too, but having made farro soup in the past, I decided I would simply create something with ingredients I had on hand.

Soup making isn't rocket science, so my only real concern was the cooking time of the épeautre. Happily, the package states clearly, "Cuisson: 30m." I gathered my vegetables for the soffrito, some basil from the garden, some chicken stock and started to put together my first soupe d'épeautre.

As I said, making soup is easy, and you can follow the steps below to make any kind of hearty vegetable soup. I used chicken broth because I had it on hand, but water, vegetable broth or any combination would work well, too. A dollop of sherry or wine might be a nice addition. All you need to do is make sure your vegetables are cooked to the right consistency (not too mushy, please) and that your grain of choice is also done to perfection. If you don't have access to épeautre/einkorn or farro/spelt, other good grains to consider are barley, rice and quinoa.

I managed to time the day perfectly. The bread came out of the oven about 15 minutes prior to finishing the soup, which gave it just enough time to rest and slice well.

And now it's time to stoke the fire, slather the bread with butter, pour the wine and ladle the soup.

Stay warm and cozy!

- David

Soupe d’Épeautre

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 Vidalia onion

2 celery stalks

1 leek, white and light green part only

4 medium carrot

1 cup épeautre (may substitute wheat berries or farro)

1 (12-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

½ cup tomato purée

1 teaspoon salt

freshly ground black pepper

4-6 cups chicken broth, vegetable broth, water or a combination

3 cups slices kale, loosely packed

1 cups frozen green peas

15-20 fresh basil leaves, cut into slivers

extra virgin olive oil for garnish

Parmigiana-Reggiano, for garnish

Chop the onion; slice the celery lengthwise and then cut into a quarter-inch dice; slice the leek lengthwise in quarters and then slice crosswise; slice the carrots lengthwise in quarters and then cut into quarter-inch dice.

In a soup kettle, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, celery, leek and carrot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and light golden brown – about 10-12 minutes. Add the tomato purée and cook 2 minutes, or until it darkens slightly. Add the épeautre, beans, salt and pepper, stirring to mix well. Add 4 cups broth, bring to a boil, then lower the heat and let the soup simmer gently for 20 minutes.

Add the kale and simmer an additional 20 minutes. Add the peas, stirring to combine, and continue to cook for another 20 minutes, adding between 1 and 2 cups of broth or water as necessary to keep the soup from getting too dry.

Just before serving, add the basil and stir. Divide evenly between 6 warmed soup bowls, drizzle with olive oil and top with slivers of Parmigiana-Reggiano.

Serves 4-6.

_________________________________________________________

No-Knead Bread

3 cups bread flour

1/4 ounce yeast (not rapid rise), or 2 1/4 teaspoons

1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt

1 1/2 cups warm water

Olive oil spray

First thing in the morning, mix the flour, yeast, salt and water in a large bowl. It will be a raggedy, sticky dough. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put in a warm, draft-free place for the day (I turn on the oven for a minute and then turn it off, and I put the bread in the slightly warm oven for the day, especially useful for those who live in draughty antique houses).

When you get home from work - or at least 8 hours later – put the empty Dutch oven with lid in the oven and pre-heat the oven to 450ºF (if you’ve used the oven to rise the dough, make sure you take it out before pre-heating it!). Spray a cutting board with olive oil spray and turn the dough out onto the board. Fold it once or twice and then let it rest, in a covered bowl, for 30 minutes while the oven pre-heats.

After 30 minutes, the Dutch oven will be very hot. Carefully remove it from the oven and take off the lid. Scoop up the dough, keeping the seam side down and drop it into the hot Dutch oven. The dough will hiss as it hits the hot surface. Using pot holders, shake the kettle from side to side to even out the distribution of the dough. Return the cover to the pot and place in the oven to bake.

After 30 minutes, remove the lid and bake an additional 15 minutes uncovered until perfectly browned on top. Turn bread out onto a rack and let cool at least 15 minutes before slicing.

Makes 1 boule.

Friendship and Thanks

noreply@blogger.com (Cocoa and Lavender) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 00:57:00 +0000

I just booked my flight to visit David and Mark next March. By then I'll be so ready to escape the last dregs of winter, and step into sunshine and warmth and spring desert flowers. It's been ages since I've seen these dear friends, and I'll want to squeeze every moment out of my short stay. David has promised me food shopping at his favorite haunts, mad cooking, and lots of eating. I'm very good with the "eating" part :).

Last Saturday evening, Deb and Tom quietly tied the knot before an intimate group of family and friends. Deb and I met 30 years ago, when we were hygienists working in the same dental practice. We both returned to school to pursue second careers, and together often commiserated over the exhausting schedule of jobs, commute to classes, and a mountain of homework. Even though our paths have taken us in different directions, we have remained close friends and I was honored to stand as her maid of honor this weekend.

On Sunday evening, Christina called me, "come over for a glass of wine!". We hadn't had time to catch up in awhile and had much to discuss over olives, cheese, crackers and taramosalata. Christina and I have known each other for some time - acquaintances, if you will - but only in the last few years have we become philenathes. Friends were coming for supper one evening and I wondered, "would she like to join us". We pepper our conversations with Greek - she has a better command of the language than I and has promised to teach me some fancy dance moves before the next Greek festival.

Chloe - 18 years old and wondering where her dessert is.

And this Thursday, I will celebrate Thanksgiving dinner with my mother, brother and his family - and then we'll continue on to my cousin's home to spend the remainder of the day with our extended family. As I look back and take stock, my days are filled with beauty, and goodness, and people whom I love and who love me. I am so very grateful.

Happy Thanksgiving, dear readers.

FROZEN CRANBERRY TORTE

Crust:
1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup sugar

Filling:
6 tablespoons butter, melted
2 cups whole cranberries, ground
1 cup sugar
2 egg whites
1 tablespoon frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup whipping or heavy cream

Garnish:
Zest from an orange

In a mixing bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, pecans, 1/4 cup sugar and the melted butter. Press onto the bottom and sides of an 9-inch springform pan. Chill.

In a large mixer bowl, combine cranberries and 1 cup sugar; let stand 5 minutes. Add egg whites, orange juice concentrate, vanilla and salt. Beat on low speed of electric mixer until frothy. Then beat at high speed (6 to 8 minutes) until stiff peaks form. In a small mixer bowl, whip cream to soft peaks. Fold into the cranberry mixture. Turn into crust. Freeze firm.

To serve, remove torte from pan and place on serving plate. Garnish with grated or curled orange zest.

Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Chiles en Nogada

noreply@blogger.com (Cocoa and Lavender) — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 05:25:00 +0000

This week, we take a jaunt to Puebla, Mexico - the place where chiles en nogada were created. Tradition holds that this dish was first made in observance of the date when Father Miguel Hidalgo began the fight for Mexico's independence from Spain in 1810 (September 16th). Either the Monjas Clarisas or the Madres Contemplativas Agustinas of the convent of Santa Monica - both orders of nuns in Puebla - created the dish in his honor. It uses the three colors of the Mexican flag: green, white and red.

The first time I ever saw chiles en nogada - and I say saw because it was a visual encounter only - was in the movie, Like Water for Chocolate. The movie, based on Laura Esquivel's book of the same title, is a favorite among foodies, and for good reason. Quail in rose petal sauce, turkey mole with almonds and sesame seeds, and the egg-rich Chabela wedding cake are a few of the recipes cited in the book/movie. All are prepared with a passion so fierce that you can almost smell them cooking as you watch. At the end of the movie, as in the final chapter of Esquivel's book, the heroine comes out of the house with a platter full of chiles en nogada. I knew immediately I had to learn how make them.

I could see that they were some kind of chiles rellenos covered with a creamy white sauce, sprinkled with pomegranate seeds. Until I purchased Esquivel's book, I had no idea how many ingredients were involved, and was truly surprised by extraordinary combination of favors. While the book names the ingredients for each dish, the directions are interspersed throughout each chapter – it’s a novel, after all, not a cookbook – making it difficult to follow, especially as a young, inexperienced cook. I gave the book to a friend to read, and never saw it again.

Flash forward several decades to Tucson. At the Tucson Botanical Gardens’ charming bookstore, I bought the cookbook Frida’s Fiestas by Guadalupe Rivera (coauthored with Marie-Pierre Colle). It is based on reminiscences and recipes from her life with her mother, Frida Kahlo.

That night, I sat in bed taking in all the amazing recipes she had collected. She presents them seasonally by month. Moles, stews and fritters grace each month's offerings. When I turned to the section on National Holidays, there was the recipe for chiles en nogada! I knew immediately what was on our menu for the coming weekend.

The recipe is so much more than simple chiles rellenos. These special holiday versions are stuffed with a subtle mix of meats, fruits and nuts; the cream sauce is a mixture of Mexican crema, ground walnuts and queso fresco, with a dollop of sherry added for good measure.

Once I took in the ingredient list, I realized that this is autumnal food. Sadly, I was reading the recipe in April; pomegranate seeds and walnuts were very much out of season. So, I waited through the summer for the seasonal ingredients to come onto the market. And the wait was worthwhile!

Even in Tucson it is hard to find peaches, pomegranates and walnuts all in season at the same time, especially on September 16th. So I waited a month more and managed to get all for October 16th. (But I have also had luck using reconstituted dried peaches in November, when the pomegranates are at their peak here).

This is not a meal that can be thrown together at the last minute, but it isn't difficult, either. It is, however, a great choice for a special celebration. Because there are many steps, it would be a great dish to make together with friends, perhaps with a margarita or two.

I did a lot of research to find an authentic recipe for chiles en nogada - and I learned that, like many traditional dishes, each recipe varies from home to home, from abuela to abuela. There are probably simpler versions, but the one I give below is the one that appeals to me for the complexity of the favors combined.

After the meal, the best dessert you can offer is a steaming cup or bowl of Mexican hot chocolate. In Tucson, we are happy to see Yissel and Dave back at the Farmers Market with their artisanal Oaxacan chocolate bars that melt down into an addictive cup of hot chocolate. They bring it up from Oaxaca and this year they are selling molinillos, too; these are hand-carved wooden whisks used to froth traditional Mexican hot chocolate (though a utilitarian wire whisk works fine too). Visit their website Xocolatl if you aren't in Tucson and want to order some for yourself!

Mexican hot chocolate is quite distinctive; it combines chocolate, almonds, sugar and cinnamon in a small brick that is melted into hot milk or, as seen in Like Water for Chocolate, hot water. I prefer using milk, as do Yissel and Dave.

So, if you have a quiet day and have thought ahead to get the ingredients, you should give this a try. The combination of flavors promise to make your taste buds awaken with delight.

Buen provecho!

- David

Chiles en Nogada

Based on Frida's recipe

6 large poblano chiles, roasted whole, peeled, seeded
(using only one slit to remove the seeds and veins)

1/2 cup flour

3 eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt

canola oil

1 large pomegranate, seeds removed and reserved

parsley, for garnish

FILLING

1 pound ground pork

1/2 large sweet onion, peeled and quartered

4 tablespoons butter

1/2 large sweet onion (the other half), chopped

2 cups tomato purée

1/2 apple, peeled and chopped

1 peach, peeled, pitted and chopped

1 plantain, peeled and chopped

2 tablespoons candied citron, finely chopped

2 tablespoons golden raisins

1/4 cup slivered almonds, coarsely chopped

2 teaspoons sugar

salt and pepper

WALNUT SAUCE

1 cup walnut pieces

1/4 cup slivered almonds

1/2 cup queso fresco

1/2 cup Mexican crema or half-and-half

2 tablespoons sherry

2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

Place the pork and onion chunks in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. (Simmer longer if your pork is very fatty.) Drain and discard onion pieces; set pork aside.

Heat butter in a large skillet and sauté the chopped onion until soft and translucent - about 5 minutes. Add the tomato purée and cook slowly for about 10 minutes, stirring often. Add the reserved pork, fruits, citron, raisins, almonds and sugar. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook over medium heat for another 10 minutes. Set aside.

Purée all the sauce ingredients - the consistency can be either chunky or smooth, depending on your preference. If the sauce is too thick, add more crema or some milk. Refrigerate if you do not plan to use right away, although the sauce should not be cold when it is served on the chiles.

Pat dry the roasted and peeled chiles with paper towels. Divide the filling among the 6 peppers, being careful not to over stuff or tear them. Spread the flour on a plate and turn each chile in the flour to coat lightly.

In a large bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff, but not too dry. In a small bowl, beat the yolks with the salt. Gently fold the yolks into the whites to make the batter.

Heat about 1/2-inch canola oil in a comal or cast-iron frying pan. Dip the chiles, one by one, in the batter and fry - one or two at a time - until golden brown. Drain them on paper towels as you fry the others.

Serve the chiles at room temperature by dipping them in the walnut sauce to cover them completely. Place each on on a plate to serve and bathe with more nogada sauce. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and garnish with parsley.

Under the Covers

noreply@blogger.com (Cocoa and Lavender) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 01:11:00 +0000

Not this week, I'm afraid. Sore throat, earache, chills - I'm a mess.
In the meanwhile, here's what's new and interesting . . .

I've switched, at least temporarily, from my signature fragrance of Quelques Fleurs to Tom Ford's Violet Blonde. Luscious.
Food & Wine editors tried macarons from seven bakeries, and liked Macaron Cafe, in NYC, best. I was in Manhattan over the weekend, and the line at Laduree was snaking out the door. Glad I didn't wait, when I can order online from the Cafe. For medicinal purposes, of course.
Our holiday party at work is in two weeks and we are excited to have The White Apron catering. There's a reason they have been voted "Best Caterer" for 2010.
Teavana's JavaVana Mate Tea - chocolate and vanilla blended with black Assam and roasted mate tea. A nice morning or evening tea.
I am a big fan of Masterpiece Mystery, and the recent Case Histories is worth watching if for no other reason than Jason Isaacs and Millie Innes, who is absolutely delightful.

Time for bed - see you in two.

Brunello. Uncorked. Sipped. Loved.

noreply@blogger.com (Cocoa and Lavender) — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 15:40:00 +0000

On our last day in Tuscany, eight of us headed to Montalcino in two cars for the day. Mark and I had been invited by Laura Gray at Il Palazzone for a tour of the vineyard and a tasting of their Brunello, ... And we were told to bring friends.

Brunello di Montalcino, if you aren't familiar with it, is an Italian red wine produced in the vineyards surrounding the town of Montalcino located about 70 miles south of Florence. Brunello, roughly translated as "small dark one" in the local dialect, is made solely from hand-picked Sangiovese grapes and then aged in oak barrels. Most producers separate their production between a normale and riserva bottling, releasing the normale bottles four years after harvest and the riserva anther year after that. In 1980, the Brunello di Montalcino was awarded the first Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) designation and today is one of Italy's best-known and most expensive wines.

So, off we went to get there for our 11:00 tour, arriving pretty much on time. Il Palazzone isn't far at all from the "villa" we rented in Montalcino in 1998 (a converted monastery called I Cappuccini) - a trip with many of the same folks who were here in Tuscany with us this year. Memories of that earlier trip flowed freely in our car; it was a magical time.

Laura greeted us, let us stretch, and offered us water before taking us on a tour of the property. The tour included a walk through the vineyards, olive groves, past the pool, into a boschetto (we sampled warm and sticky figs fresh off the tree), and up to the new wine cellar, which is nearing completion!

Il Palazzone has a program called Club 100 through which one can sponsor an olive tree and get their wonderful olive oil delivered to one's doorstep! For information, click here to contact Laura and she will be able to help you.

We returned to the tasting room where we sampled the 1995 and 2005 Brunellos from the estate, starting with the 2005. It was truly a lovely wine - I wish I had taken notes that day - great fruit, with a very bright and clear finish. My taste buds started asking for a good steak!

Laura Gray coating each glass with some Brunello to prepare them for the tasting.

We moved on to the 1995, and the difference that came with an extra 10 years in the bottle was pretty stunning. The wonderful flavor of the 2005 was there but the intensity was three times that of its younger sibling. It was dark and mysterious; visions of mushrooms and complex herb combinations came to mind. What a treat to taste these two wines side by each, so close in physical proximity yet so far from one another in taste.

As we got ready to leave Il Palazzone, we purchased several bottles for dinner later that evening - a mixed grill of homemade sausage, pork and chicken. What a treat! Our many thanks to Laura Gray - and to owners Richard and Laura Parsons - for their generous hospitality and a wonder-filled tour! Please do check out Il Palazzone online and, when in Tuscany, visit their new tasting room (contact them first to check on dates and times) and at least make sure you try some of their Brunello; the prices are extremely reasonable and the flavor is incomparable. Also, Laura Gray writes a great blog to help us keep up on seasonal happenings in Montalcino!

It has been many years since I have had a Brunello di Montalcino, and it reminded me of a braised beef recipe that calls for Brunello, although I often will use its poor cousin for the recipe - Rosso di Montalcino - saving the Brunello for drinking with the meal!

Here is the Brasato di Manzo recipe; it is the perfect dish to make on a chilly autumn day - it warms the kitchen and the aromas are heavenly. Enjoy this with your prized bottle of Brunello. In the case of Brunello, it is the food that accompanies the wine, not the other way around! Happy tasting!

- David

Brasato di Manzo

1 3-pound boneless beef chuck roast, well marbled

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

1 large onion, peeled and sliced

1 stalk celery, sliced

1 large carrot, peeled and sliced

2 6-inch sprigs rosemary

4 fresh bay leaves

1-2 tablespoons peppercorns

1 bottle Brunello or Rosso di Montalcino

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup brandy

Early in the morning, place the meat, vegetables, rosemary, bay leaves and peppercorns in a large ceramic or glass container. Add the bottle of wine, cover and place in the refrigerator to marinate.

About 2 hours before serving preheat oven to 300°F, remove the meat from the marinade and pat it dry. Set aside. Strain the marinade, reserving both the wine and vegetables. Place the wine in a saucepan and bring to a boil; reduce by half - about 10 minutes - and remove from the heat.

Generously salt and pepper the meat. Heat oil and butter over medium-high heat in a Dutch oven large enough to hold the meat. Sear on all sides - about 12 minutes. Add the brandy and ignite. (For safety, I turn off the heat when using a gas stove to avoid getting burned.) When flames subside, add the reserved vegetables and pour the reduced marinade over top.

Bring to a boil, then cover and place in the preheated oven. Braise for 2 hours hours. Remove the meat from the pan and tent to keep warm.

Remove the rosemary sprigs and bay leaves and discard. Using a slotted spoon, remove vegetables from cooking liquid and puree in a food processor. Return the puree to the cooking liquid and mix well. Slice the meat thinly and serve with the sauce on the side.

Serves 6.

Lunch Pies

noreply@blogger.com (Cocoa and Lavender) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 02:18:00 +0000

Onions as room palette inspiration - creamy white, black and aged wood.

I love Gorgonzola cheese. Sprinkle it on my salad every day.

Bought the coffee bowl in Paris. I could use a few more. . .


I cheat and use frozen puff pastry.

Serve these sweetie pies to guests for lunch - you'll get oohs and ahhs.

ONION PIE WITH GORGONZOLA AND PROSCIUTTO

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 white onions, very thinly sliced
1/4 cup water
3 oz Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled into small pieces
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 puff pastry sheets, each 11 x 15 inches (fresh or thawed frozen)
1 egg, lightly beaten
6 slices prosciutto, sliced very thin

1. In saute pan over medium heat, warm olive oil. Add the onions and saute until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add the water and continue to saute until all the moisture evaporates, about another 5 minutes. Add the Gorgonzola cheese and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until melted, about 5 minutes longer. Season only lightly with salt, if needed, and add pepper to taste. Cool completely.

2. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Grease a baking sheet with butter.

3. Place the puff pastry on a cutting board. Using the rim of a small bowl about 5 inches in diameter, cut the pastry into 8 rounds. Gather the scraps and roll out, and cut 4 more rounds.

4. Place 6 rounds on the prepared baking sheet. Brush their outer rims and tops with the beaten egg. Evenly distribute the cooled onion mixture onto the middle of each round, leaving 1 inch uncovered around the edges. Place 1 prosciutto slice on top of each mound of onion mixture. Cover each round with a second pastry round, making sure to pinch down firmly around the edges to seal in the filling. Brush the top of each "pie" with more of the beaten egg. Using a small, sharp knife, pierce the top of each pie once with a small slit.

5. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and serve immediately.

Serves 6

Arrivederci Roma!

noreply@blogger.com (Cocoa and Lavender) — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 14:27:00 +0000

After our recent week in Tuscany with family and friends (20, in case you haven't been reading), Mark and I wanted some "us" time. So off we went to Rome, where we rented a very tiny studio apartment for a week in Vecchia Roma - on the Via dei Coronari, about two minutes from Piazza Navona and another five minutes to Campo dei Fiori. If you've been to Rome, you already know that Campo dei Fiori is foodie heaven. If you haven't been, it is definitely the place to go if you love good food.

Our neighborhood was filled with high-end antiques shops, upscale men's clothing boutiques, restaurants and caffès. When I looked out the window in the morning and evening, the sun would stream down this vicolo and make amazing shadow play on the centuries-old stuccoed walls, as I watched people coming and going.

A tiny but very efficient kitchen!

When we rented it, we were happy to find it was on a "pedestrian only" street, thinking it would be quiet. But, now, we almost believe that quiet is impossible in Rome. In the end, "pedestrian only" meant pedestrians, cabs, trucks, motorcycles, and hand carts - all on cobbles. But it didn't matter - the life below was part of the magical experience. So what if we lost a little sleep at night?

Every day - even Sundays now - there are dozens of vendors selling their produce and wares in the Campo dei Fiori. The Sunday vendors mostly sell dried and packaged ingredients - spices, herb mixtures, oils, vinegars, legumes and nuts. But every other day there is an amazing array of fruits, vegetables and flowers that made me practically giddy.

One of my many faults, as Mark will gladly tell you, is over-buying at markets, especially when in Europe. There are so many foods I want to try and, in my mind, I have plenty of time to make all the things of which I dream. He gets frustrated when we end up needing to get rid of things before flying back stateside. This time, I promised to show some restraint.

The apartment had but two butter knives - it's amazing what can be done with them!

We actually spent the nicest first evening in Rome at the Bar Campo de'Fiori, sipping Campari (me) and Cynar (Mark) cocktails and watching the delightful parade of life go by to the music of a very talented classical guitarist. It wasn't until several days later that we got there at 6:30am to buy produce for meals at the apartment. Already I felt more restrained!

We started the market visit by touring around, checking out each vendor and her/his offerings. Beautiful wines, cheeses, honeys, vinegars, grains, spices, flowers and, of course, vegetables and fruits. Being that it is mid-September, I was hopeful that it might just be the beginning of porcini season, but our once-over revealed only standard white button mushrooms. Sad, but I would survive.

We hadn't really thought much about what we wanted and started looking at one vendor who had green beans that were as thin spaghetti strands. I love haricots verts, but these were a new extreme in their minuscule size. The somewhat older, yet spritely, woman behind the stand quickly threw us several bags to fill. Her daughter soon came by and asked if we needed anything else.

We asked her to choose a melon for us, one that would be good for the next day. She squeezed a few, settled on one, sniffed both ends and added it to our pile. We started to put some white peaches in a bag and she stopped us, telling us to get the "giallone" ones in the next bin. Not your average yellow peach, she said- "This one is special in Rome - we have it for dessert in a wine glass with a slightly frizzante wine." She said prosecco would be perfect. We told her that we had a nice verdicchio on hand and she said, "Va bene!" That would be fine.

Just before finishing up, I asked her, "Quando e la staggione per i funghi porcini?" When is the season for porcini? "Adesso! Now!" she replied both in Italian and English. She walked over to the neighboring vendor and returned a moment later, her hands filled with the beautiful, fragrant, bulbous, gritty mushrooms. I was so happy that I thought to ask! She asked how many we wanted and I asked for two large ones. She wrapped them in paper and then held up a bunch of parsley, asking if we needed any. It was her subtle hint that parsley is the herb of choice for these mushrooms. We added the parsley to the pile.

So we left that day with our two prized porcini, a melon, yellow peaches, figs, itsy-bitsy green beans, onions, parsley and basil. (We went back two days later for more porcini, another melon, figs and peaches...). My afternoon's amusement lay ahead... Cooking and photographing our market treasures. (Here I must say that the only downside to the apartment was its north-facing exposure - it made for very bad photography lighting. So the photos are not optimal to say the least!)

The first real meal in the apartment consisted of slices of fresh melon, sautéed porcini with parsley, sautéed fagiolini (green beans) with rosemary (brought with us from the villa outside Cortona), slices of bresaola (a cured beef) with arugula and Parmigiano-Reggiano, pasta with pancetta, onions, tomatoes, capers and red wine topped with fresh mozzarella and Parmigiano-Reggiano. We drank a Rosso di Montefalco with dinner and then had a few fresh green figs and finished with yellow peaches in verdicchio. We were stuffed to the gills - it had been enough food for six people! What? Were we supposed to stop when we were full?

As many times as I have had pasta with "fresh" porcini in my life, I have come to the realization that there is nothing - absolutely nothing - as good as a simply sautéed porcini mushroom by itself. The caps melt in your mouth like foie gras (without the calories or political guilt) and the stems are as good as the best steak I have ever eaten. Mark said, "For 17 years I have heard you go on about fresh porcini mushrooms. I could never see what the big deal was... Until now!"

The following recipes are less like recipes and more like guidelines. That is the way we cook when we are in Italy. As porcini mushrooms (boletus edulis) are very hard to find fresh in the States, American-made bresaola is over-dried, and giallone peaches may not be grown here, you may need to substitute with your local ingredients: portobello mushrooms for the porcini, prosciutto or speck for the bresaola and the freshest local peaches for the giallone. The shape of the pasta we used (radiatore) is probably all wrong for the sauce we made (Italians are quite clear that each shape of pasta - and there are hundreds - is meant for a particular sauce) but it is what we had on hand. Waste not, want not.

Buon appetito!

Sautéed Porcini Mushrooms

porcini mushrooms

extra virgin olive oil

salt

Italian parsley

Clean the fresh porcini very well with a mushroom brush and damp paper towels. Trim away any bottom parts that do not seem edible due to the grit. Slice the mushrooms about 3/4-inch thick and don't worry if the caps fall off - they come off quite easily and will do so anyway while being sautéed. Heat the oil in a skillet until hot but not smoking. Add the mushrooms and sauté on both sides until golden brown. The stems will take a bit longer than the caps. Season with salt and transfer to a plate; garnish with chopped fresh parsley.

Bresaola with Arugula

6 slices bresaola per person

a handful of arugula per person

slivers of Parmigiano-Reggiano

extra virgin olive oil

crema di balsamico, optional

Spread the six slices of bresaola on a serving plate and top with the arugula. Add cheese slivers and drizzle with oil at the table. A fine thread of crema di balsamico (syrupy balsamic reduction) drizzled on top is a nice addition.

Pasta with Pancetta, Tomatoes, Red Wine and Cheeses

4 ounces short pasta (radiatore, penne, campanelle)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, slivered
1/4 cup diced pancetta
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered
2 fresh bay leaves
1/2 cup red wine
2 tablespoons capers, drained
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup reserved pasta cooking water
5 bocconcini (mozzarella balls, also called ciliegine)
slivers of Parmigiano-Reggiano

Bring a large kettle of well-salted water (2 -3 tablespoons salt) to a boil and cook pasta until al dente. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a skillet and add the onion and pancetta. Sauté until both are golden. Add the tomatoes and bay leaves and continue cooking to release the liquids form the tomatoes. Add the wine and bring to a simmer; reduce until almost evaporated. Add capers and basil with 1/4 cup of the pasta water. Add the cooked pasta and toss to coat with the sauce. Divide among two bowls and top with halved bocconcini and slivers of Parmigiano-Reggiano. Serve immediately.

Serves 2.

Peaches in Wine

peaches

wine

almond extract, optional

This "recipe" could not be easier. When the meal is done and there is still a bit of wine left in the bottle, slice your peaches into your wine glass and drizzle with some of the remaining wine. Seriously, it doesn't get much better than this! Sometimes, we will add a drop of almond extract to the wine, especially if the peaches are not terribly sweet.

In Rome, they use the large yellow peaches in fizzy white wine, while in Tuscany, the peaches are white and the wine is red. Either way, it is a light treat after a heavy meal.

Lemon Poppy Thins

noreply@blogger.com (Cocoa and Lavender) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 23:51:00 +0000

Give me crisp days and cold nights and I am hankering for yarn. Thick socks. Wooly sweaters. Bright scarves. That is, of course, until the temps climbed to 85 degrees this weekend. No matter, a temporary inconvenience because the leaves are crunching underfoot, the smell of wood burning is in the air and I hear the call of clicking needles.

Meditative, tactile, visually stimulating - the repetitive nature of knitting is soothing and undemanding. From what is basically a ball of string and two sticks comes an object of warmth and beauty. This month I am looking forward to finishing a project put aside after my father died two years ago. It's a lovely sweater in a juicy magenta mohair, and wearing it I will be enveloped with sweet memories of time spent with him.

And there is such pleasure in knitting with friends. On a recent evening at Pam's, we curled up in front of a crackling fire, bags overflowing with yarn, everyone gabbing and working away.

As the days grow shorter, be good to yourself - gather some wool and needles, a steaming cup of tea and a few lemony cookies, and knit-purl yourself something cozy and beautiful.

LEMON POPPY THINS

2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons lemon zest
1-1/4 cups granulated sugar
12 tablespoons (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 to 2 tablespoons poppy seeds

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.
2. With a mixer, beat lemon zest and sugar on medium speed. Add butter. Cream with sugar and lemon zest until light and fluffy, another 2 to 3 minutes. Mix in lemon juice. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined and no flour pockets remain. Chill until firm, about 45 minutes.
3. Roll rounded teaspoonsfuls of dough into 3/4-inch balls; place 2 inches apart onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Sprinkle with poppy seeds. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the sheet after 5 minutes, until the edges are just set. Transfer to a rack to cool.

Makes 60 cookies.

On a Tuscan Countertop

noreply@blogger.com (Cocoa and Lavender) — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 15:14:00 +0000

Villa Casille, our home for the week near Cortona

"Many hands make light work." Yes, it is a time-proven adage but, in the case of a recent dinner in Tuscany, "Many hands .... saved the day!"

Angela and Pasquale at work

It was a beautiful Monday, our third day in a large villa padrone near Cortona with 20 family, friends and soon-to-be-friends – a group gathered by our cousin Cathy to celebrate a special birthday for her partner Heather. After the welcome dinner on Sunday (made by locals Pasquale and Angela, above), I - for a reason only my therapist could say - offered to make homemade pasta for the house. Pasta for 20??? What was I thinking?

On our way home that day, after touring Cortona with friends Marlow, Wes and Barbara, we picked up the flour and eggs (and the requisite case of wine) and I prepared mentally for what was ahead. I had asked Angela, after Sunday's dinner (we had just had her homemade pici with wild boar sauce - Pasquale had hunted the boar himself), how on earth she makes pasta for 20 people. "Un uova per testa (one egg per head)," she said, is what I would need to make enough for the crowd.

Normally, when I make pasta at home for Mark and myself, I use one egg and 3/4 cup flour. That gives us each a small but sufficient serving. But knowing how this group loved to eat, I opted to go with Angela’s one egg per head formula. So, I set about using a glass tumbler as my 3/4 cup measure and measured out 20 portions of flour. I made the requisite well, sprinkled it with salt and started cracking in 20 eggs. It all looked fine, as you can see from the photo, until I started to gently whisk the eggs with a fork to incorporate the flour.

At that moment, I actually began to understand how a dam breaks during a flood, and that shoring up one section might cause a weakness in another. The wall of flour started to bulge on one side and I fixed it only to find it breaking in two other places. Then three. Then four. Then, "Aaaaagghhhhh…. heeeellllp!" Like lightning, Cathy and Heather were by my side and we three - quickly and deftly as we could - pulled all the egg and flour together. It was a sticky, gooey, fabulous mess! (Thanks to Mark for catching this on film!) I kneaded it, smoothed it out, divided it into seven balls (an arbitrary number, for sure) and covered them with damp towels to let the dough rest.

After some additional kneading, I started to roll it out by hand, as there was no pasta machine in the kitchen. Due to the above-mentioned disaster, it was a bit denser than usual and was a lot of work to roll out, even after resting almost an hour. So, like Tom Sawyer and the whitewashing of the fence, I was able to entice others to help and join the "fun." Each the "dudes" from Heather's family took a turn, competing with one another as to who could get it thinnest and as uniform as possible. We even tried rolling each flat noodle separately, as seen above. Miraculously, just as the water came to a boil, we had just finished rolling and cutting a mass of beautiful papparadelle to feed the crowd.

Barbara made a fantastic ragù of leftover duck (from Pasquale and Angela's meal the night before) by adding some onions, tomatoes, rosemary, wine, cream and simmered duck broth. It worked beautifully with the papparadelle and there was almost none leftover. Oh, and those 12 bottles of wine we bought??? They were never seen again. I have no idea where they went....

Homemade Pasta Dough (with or without a machine)

1 1/2 cups flour, plus extra
2 large eggs
salt

Mound the flour on your work surface (wood is my preference) and make a well in the center. Add the eggs and a pinch of salt. Using a fork – or your hands, as we did in Tuscany - whisk the eggs and continue whisking in a circular motion, each time getting a little larger to incorporate more of the flour. Eventually, it will be impossible to use the fork; you must switch to your hands. Incorporate as much of the flour as possible, then knead the dough for 10-15 minutes until firm and elastic.

The resting period is crucial for pasta dough. Cover the dough with a damp kitchen towel and let it rest for 30-60 minutes. This allows the gluten to develop.

After the resting period, divide the dough into four pieces. Take one piece and cover the other three with the towel. On a lightly floured board, knead the piece a bit and then, using a hand-cranked pasta machine, roll it through once at the thickest setting. Fold the piece in three, as you would fold a letter, and run it through again at the thickest setting. Repeat this step as often as necessary to make a smooth dough. Now, begin to roll the dough thinner, going up one notch on the roller each time until your desired thickness. You may need to dust with flour from time to time. Repeat these steps with the other three pieces of dough. (If you are not using a machine, simply roll the dough out as you would any other. It needs to be very thin - you should be able to see a leaf of parsley through it.)

You may then cut the pasta to whatever shape you desire, either by hand or using the crank machine. Cook the pasta in well-salted water. A good handful of salt is required! Fresh pasta cooks very quickly - about 3-4 minutes maximum.

for fettucine, cut the dough to the desired length, then roll each piece up and cut into 1/4-inch wide noodles. Unroll and dust lightly with flour; set aside.
for papparadelle, follow the directions for fettucine and cut the rolls in 1/2-inch intervals.
for farfalle, cut the pasta sheet into 1-inch wide strips using a pastry cutter to give the jagged edge. Then cut each strip at 1-inch intervals using a sharp knife. Tightly pinch the two knife-cut edges together to form the "bow-tie" shape. Farfalle, in Italian, means butterflies.
for lasagne, cut the rolled pieces to the length of your pan. The dough can be used as is, or cooked for 1-2 minutes in boiling water.

Apple-Honey Challah

noreply@blogger.com (Cocoa and Lavender) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 03:30:00 +0000

I'm always tickled when I experience serendipity. Take this post for instance - while David has 3, 4, possibly 7 recipes in the cooker waiting to post, here I am - late, late, late - with a recipe I made over a week ago. Sigh. In so many ways, I am the epitome of organization - sadly, this just isn't one of them.

And what to write? I've been sitting at my desk staring at a page torn ages ago from an issue of Martha Stewart Living, pondering that very question. From the pile of never-tried-recipes, I had pulled out one for Apple-Honey Challah. Only now did my fingers do a bit of internet walking and I was delighted to read that Rosh Hashanah - the Jewish New Year - begins at sunset this Wednesday, September 28th. Positively serendipitous and I'm just in the nick of time. It's interesting to learn that among the traditional food customs surrounding this high holiday, challah baked into a round loaf represents wholeness and community, and the cycle of the new year. And simply put, apples and honey are symbolic of the wish for a sweet new year.

I'm glad I finally made this recipe, after numerous times of pulling it out and stuffing it back into the folder. The bread is light and moist, and pleasantly sweet. I ate it toasted and slathered with butter, but I think it would make for wonderful French toast.

Shanah Tovah (Good Year) to all celebrating Rosh Hashanah.

APPLE-HONEY CHALLAH

4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter or nondairy margarine, plus more for bowl, pan, and plastic
3-1/2 cups unbleached bread flour, plus more for surface
3/4 cup warm water (105-115 degrees)
2/3 cup honey
2 large eggs plus 3 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 teaspoons coarse salt
1-1/2 tart green apples, preferably Granny Smith, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices (about 1-3/4 cups)*

1. Butter a large bowl, and melt 4 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat; let cool. Combine 2 tablespoons melted butter, the flour, water, 1/3 cup honey, the eggs and yolks, yeast and salt in a large bowl. Mix until dough forms. Turn dough out onto a floured surface, and knead until smooth (about 10 minutes if kneading by hand).

2. Transfer dough to buttered bowl, and brush with 1 tablespoon melted butter. Cover with plastic. Let rise in a warm place until dough almost doubles in volume, about 1-1/2 hours.

3. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Pat into an 8-1/2-by-14-inch rectangle. Top with apples; knead to incorporate. Return to bowl. Brush with remaining tablespoon melted butter; cover. Let rise again in a warm place until dough almost doubles in volume, about 1 hour more.

4. Preheat over to 375 degrees, with rack in lowest position. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan. Roll dough into a rope (about 24 inches) on a floured surface. Coil into a circle, and transfer to pan. Let rise again until dough almost doubles in volume, about 45 minutes more.

5. Heat remaining 4 tablespoons butter and 1/3 cup honey in a saucepan over medium-low heat until butter melts. Brush dough with half the honey-butter. Bake until golden brown and underside sounds hollow when tapped, about 35 minutes.**

6. Brush challah with the remaining honey-butter. Let cool in pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Turn out loaf from pan and let cool.

Makes one 9-inch round loaf.

* Several internet sources state that tart and bitter foods are avoided during this holiday, including tart apples. You may wish to substitute another variety for the Granny Smith.

** You may need to cover the loaf while baking, if it browns too quickly.

A Sonoran Desert Coffee Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Cocoa and Lavender) — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 12:13:00 +0000

Recently, Mark and I were in the downtown Tucson store of Whole Foods. This is not a store where we normally shop, for the main reason that it is off our beaten path. We have great stores in our direct route between work and home - Trader Joe's, Caravan (Middle Eastern market), the India Dukaan and Albertson's. Pretty much everything we need, we find in one of our regular spots.

I can't remember what took us to Whole Foods that day, but we were so glad we went. It was their once-a-month day to show off local vendors selling Arizona-made products. This gave me the idea to create a recipe using items created by our local artisans or grown by local farmers. You needn't worry if you aren't in Arizona, though - most of these vendors ship or you can make substitutions using your local ingredients. Now, see how easy this will be?

My first foray into this realm will be my Sonoran Desert Coffee Cake, made with mesquite flour (from the velvet mesquite), Cheri's Cactus Marmalade and Arizona-grown pecans – all three products form our beautiful Sonoran Desert.

The mesquite flour comes from Skeleton Creek in Aravaipa Canyon just north of Tucson on the other side of the Santa Catalina Mountains. They have mesquite flours in varying grades of fineness, flavor and finishes. For this recipe I chose the all-purpose velvet mesquite flour, as they were out of the XXX superfine velvet mesquite flour. No worries, though as this flour produced a cake with fine crumb, as you can see it in the photos!

For the marmalade, we chose the cactus marmalade from Cheri's Desert Harvest. She is one of our go-to artisans for host and hostess gifts when traveling, with a product line runs the gamut from her jams, jellies and marmalades to a variety of syrups for pancakes, margaritas and dessert mixes. She also has a great selection of cactus candy jellies - like square gumdrops with REAL flavor!

I once took a box of cactus candies to my Aunt Rae for her 88th birthday. I knew they would be weird for this aging Vermonter but I wanted her to try something new - something from our new desert home. Fearing that she would politely say thank you and "save them for a special occasion," I suggested she open them right away and try one. Her first was the prickly pear jelly. She ate two! After dinner she tried the margarita-flavored ones (she liked limes anyway, so that was easy) but she was balking at the mesquite bean flavored ones. First, they are brown and second, they are from a seedpod. It just sounded too odd for her. I suggested she think of them as having a cinnamon-honey flavor and she caved. AND, she liked it.

The cactus marmalade used in today's recipe is made with prickly pear juice and locally grown lemons to produce a magenta-colored, tart-sweet preserve, and can be used in so many ways - glazes and baked goods come first to mind, but plain on toast works, too!

Pecans are a native American nut and Arizona is the fourth largest grower in the United States. Depending on the area from which they come, they can be small or large (up to 3 inches!) and today’s are a good size with sweet flavor.

So, remembering the time I brought Aunt Rae the candies, I thought of her coffee cake, as well. My Sonoran Desert Coffee Cake is inspired by her basic coffee cake recipe – a cake that she would serve to Mark and me on cold, late-November mornings while we were visiting for Thanksgiving. I thought it would be a fitting tribute to her if I could use that recipe and make it my own using the mesquite flour, Cheri's marmalade and some pecans grown nearby.

So here you are - a Sonoran Desert Coffee Cake from Aunt Rae's kitchen to my kitchen to yours!

- David

Sonoran Desert Coffee Cake

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1½ cups flour

½ cup mesquite flour

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup nonfat Greek yogurt

1½ teaspoon Penzeys lemon extract

1 8-ounce jar Cheri’s Cactus Marmalade

1 cup chopped Arizona pecans

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition. Add baking powder, baking soda, flour, mesquite flour, salt, sour cream and lemon extract. Blend well. Spread batter into a greased and floured 10-inch tube pan. Put the cactus marmalade into a bowl and stir to loosen. Using a wet soup spoon, make a “moat” in the center of the batter and fill with marmalade. Sprinkle with nuts and bake for 55 minutes. Let cake cool 10-15 minutes and remove from pan.

Notes: if you cannot find mesquite flour, you can substitute whole-wheat flour or all-purpose white flour. Sour cream can be used in place of Greek yogurt, almond or vanilla extract in place of the lemon, any flavor marmalade or thick preserve for the cactus marmalade, and pistachios, almonds or walnuts for the pecans.

Good Food, Good Wine

noreply@blogger.com (Cocoa and Lavender) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 00:38:00 +0000

Walk, skip, run to get your tickets.

Stuffed Again!

noreply@blogger.com (Cocoa and Lavender) — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 15:30:00 +0000

My most recent farmers market find is the Jimmy Nardello sweet Italian frying pepper. I have never tasted a pepper this sweet in my life and am now hooked.

Should you want to grown your own, seeds for the Jimmy Nardello pepper are readily available online at Burpee's and other seed catalogs and I think I will be growing them myself next year along with my Scotch bonnets, Thai peppers and native chiltepin peppers. I have never before had the urge to grow a sweet pepper! (Let's be honest, Mark will grow the peppers for me, and he will benefit from all the culinary wonders they/I provide for him!)

When the woman at the vegetable stall asked what I was going to do with them, my first thought was to stuff them and serve them as an appetizer or first course. "Well, what exactly will you stuff them with?" Feeling a bit on the spot, I responded, "Cheese and herbs, of course!"

And that is pretty much what I did! Like many of my recipes, this one started with, "What's in the fridge today?" Greek yogurt (nonfat - from recent a recent Indian meal), Parmigiana-Reggiano and pecorino Romano (refrigerator standards), egg whites (leftover from some cake or other that I baked earlier in the week), a paprika/cayenne blend (from some Thai cooking on Thursday) and Greek oregano from Mark's garden.

When you have a great list of ingredients to start a recipe - about half Italian and half Greek – how can you go wrong? In my mind, Italian + Greek = Amazing!

I was especially pleased, when considering these ingredients, with the low-fat aspect of the recipe-to-come. The entire recipe has very few calories and yet they are really filling. Oh, and they are delicious!

So, for my Italian friends, "Buon appetito!" and for my Greek friends, "Kali' óreksi!"

- David

Roasted stuffed Jimmy Nardello Peppers

10-12 Jimmy Nardello sweet frying peppers

6 tablespoons nonfat Greek yogurt

1/4 cup grated Parmigiana-Reggiano

1/4 cup grated pecorino Romano

1/4 cup egg white

2 tablespoons chopped Greek oregano

1/8 teaspoon sweet paprika

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

freshly ground black pepper

Heat a gas grill or preheat broiler. Cook peppers for about 1 minute per side to soften and slightly char. Let cool.

While the peppers are cooling, mix all remaining ingredients well and put into a re-sealable Ziploc storage bag. Chill until ready to stuff.

Using sharp kitchen shears, very carefully slit the peppers from top to bottom. Again using the shears, cut the top seed cluster from the stem and then gently using your fingers, pull out the seeds and large ribs, being careful not to rip the peppers. Place gutted peppers on a baking sheet.

Cut a 3/16-inch corner off one side of the bag and use it as a pastry bag to pipe the filling into the peppers.

Preheat broiler to high. Place stuffed peppers under the broiler for 6 minutes or until bubbling and browning in spots.

Serves 4 to 6 as an appetizer or first course.

Surf's Up

noreply@blogger.com (Cocoa and Lavender) — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 14:53:00 +0000

Last Friday after work, Christina and I went to Surf for appetizers and wine to celebrate our mutual birthdays and Christina's annual trip to Greece. One of Portsmouth's newest restaurant, it is situated near the top of Bow Street in new construction that has closed the row of buildings and eliminated what was a perfect slice of open space to view tanker ships arriving and leaving.

That unfortunate detail aside, the new retail spaces have brought foot traffic farther up the hill and Surf is a perfect spot for people-watching. We happily perched ourselves at the end of the U-shaped bar and, with great views of the river and street, ordered wine (a Stone Fruit Riesling for me, a cabernet sauvignon for C.) and a series of outstanding apps:

Clams on the Half Shell
Parmesan-Fried Calamari
Hong Kong Salmon Rolls
Chorizo-Braised Mussels
Clams on the Half Shell (again!)
Fried Tomato and Crispy Bacon Salad

Well worth a visit, especially in the evening when it's hopping.

In the spirit of seafood and the fact that I have dozens of yet-untried recipes that need action, here is a quickie from an old Food and Wine magazine. Total time is given as 25 minutes but if you cheat and buy shrimp that are already cleaned and deveined, it's even faster.

And to the readers on the East Coast - I hope you were safe and sound throughout Hurricane Irene.

Speedy Shrimp with Watercress and Cannellini Beans

FOOD AND WINE "FAST" - AUGUST 2004

1 pound large shrimp, shelled and deveined

5-1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1/4 cup packed fresh mint leaves

2 tablespoons warm water

One 15-ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 bunch watercress (5 ounces), tough stems discarded (I used mixed greens)

Lemon wedges, for serving

Preheat the broiler and position a rack 6 inches from the heat. Toss the shrimp with 1 tablespoon olive oil until well coated and season generously with salt and pepper. Broil the shrimp for 3 minutes, turning once, or until they are opaque throughout.

In a mini food processor, pulse the mint with the warm water until chopped. Add 4 tablespoons olive oil and puree until smooth.

In a medium bowl, toss the cannellini beans with the mint oil and shrimp, and season with salt and pepper. In a large bowl, whisk the lemon juice with the remaining 1/2 tablespoon olive oil. Add the watercress, season with salt and pepper and toss gently.

Mound the watercress on large plates and spoon the shrimp salad on top. Serve with lemon wedges.

Serves 4.

Stuffed!

noreply@blogger.com (Cocoa and Lavender) — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 13:30:00 +0000

I have been eyeing the squash blossoms every week at the farmers market. And, as we are getting to the end of the blooming season, I was acutely aware that I needed to get them today.

I love stuffed squash blossoms, squash blossom risotto, and pasta with squash blossoms and saffron. Once they come home with me, they need to be used within a few hours, preferably for a noontime meal to have them as fresh as possible.

For today, stuffing them was the answer. Many preparations for stuffed squash blossoms call for deep-frying them in either a whipped-egg batter or a tempura-like batter, but frying isn't on my current diet. Not for a while, anyway. For me this was a fun challenge to find or create a recipe that wasn't too fattening.

Goat cheese is one of the more healthy cheeses you can get these days, fairly low in fat and full in flavor. Stuffing the blossoms with that would be delicious. So, while at the market we looked for goat cheese and stopped at a booth that bore a sign: Fresh Cheese. Sounded promising.... While they didn’t have goat cheese, we did however buy 4 ounces of homemade Rainbow Valley Farmers' fromage blanc - much like mascarpone cheese. While I had been hoping for goat cheese, this was perfect.

Then, as we were walking to the car, we passed another booth that DID have goat cheese. So I looked at the fromage blanc and thought, "I need more cheese!" I bought their plain goat cheese, but not until I had tasted their Mexican-style queso fresco and their baked ricotta. All three were excellent.

Once home, I sought recipe ideas online... I think most of us do this nowadays. We look at multiple recipes, take an idea from this one, another from that, consider what we have in the cupboards and then end up with a recipe that we call our own. That is exactly how this one came about - it is a nice combination of earthy sun-dried tomatoes, basil and cheeses, baked in a casserole until it is all bubbly and the flavors have melded.

I made these in one casserole dish but you will not see them served on the plate. Like many good dishes of the cucina povera, they aren’t pretty when scooped from the dish and put on a plate. However, the way to get around this is to place three stuffed blossoms in small oval serving dishes like the ones used for crème brulée. Place that on a larger plate with a salad on the side and it will make for a lovely presentation and perfect light meal!

Now - after eating a double helping – I, too, am stuffed!

- David

Stuffed Squash Blossom Gratin

3/4 ounce sun-dried tomatoes (not in oil), chopped
4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
1/3 cup fromage blanc or mascarpone cheese
1/3 cup fresh goat cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
3-4 tablespoons milk (fat-free works fine)
12 large zucchini blossoms, stems trimmed

Using a spice grinder, small food processor or a mortar and pestle, work tomatoes and 1 teaspoon of olive oil into a paste.

Mix the cheeses, sun-dried tomato paste and basil in a medium bowl. Add 3 to 4 tablespoons milk until cheese mixture is smooth and not too thick. Place in a Ziploc storage bag and set aside.

Preheat oven to 425ºF.

Use 1 more teaspoon of the olive oil to coat a small baking dish (or, as suggested above, 4 small oval dishes for individual servings). Carefully, holding one blossom, pipe the cheese filling into the cavity - about 2-3 teaspoons. Close the tops by carefully twisting the petals, as shown.

Place stuffed blossoms into the baking dish(es) and drizzle with the remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until bubbling and golden brown. The cheese filling will ooze out but this makes for a lovely gratin.

Place three blossoms on each plate with some salad and sliced tomatoes.

Serves 4.

Chickpea, Feta & Cilantro Salad

noreply@blogger.com (Cocoa and Lavender) — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 18:13:00 +0000

Last month I rejoined the gym. Trust me, it was long overdue. I've refused to buy clothes in a larger size and now (if I have any desire at all to breathe) the number of available ensembles in my closet is at an alarming low. French women may pull it together with five easy pieces but I crave a bit more variety.

So the weight machines and I have become well acquainted. Lower body, upper body, abdominal (painful!), I dutifully go through the paces prescribed by the gym's personal trainer. And - shocker - I actually enjoy it. Muscles have woken up and are engaged, and I feel stronger if not yet leaner. Although I can't quite fully exhale in the grey pants I bought online last spring and have never worn, my palms once again touch the floor.

All this physical goodness has spilled over into other parts of my life, the obvious one being eating habits. Not so much pasta, a lot more salad. This recipe from Falling Cloudberries is one of many that I had dog-eared to try. Nancy came by while I was making it and she gave it her seal of approval. I agree - it has a nice zippy flavor. So good, in fact, I'm planning to make it again on Wednesday for Greek Girls' Night.

Have a wonderful week - and enjoy!

CHICKPEA, FETA AND CILANTRO SALAD
from Falling Cloudberries, by Tessa Kiros

1-1/4 cups dried chickpeas (without skins if possible), soaked overnight in cold water OR
1 14-ounce can chickpeas
1 cup olive oil
1 large red onion, chopped
5 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
1 or 2 red chiles, seeded and finely chopped
1-2/3 cups crumbled feta cheese
4 scallions, green part only, chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
Juice of 1 lemon

If you're using dried chickpeas: Rinse the soaked chickpeas, put them in a saucepan, cover generously with water, and bring to a boil. Decrease the heat slightly and cook for 1 to 1-1/2 hours, until they are soft but not falling apart, adding salt toward the end of the cooking time. Leave them in their liquid if you will not be making the salad right away. When cooled, drain and put the chickpeas in a large bowl, picking out as many of the loose skins as you can.

If you're using canned chickpeas: Rinse the chickpeas and put them into a bowl.

Heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil and fry the red onion gently, until it is cooked through and lightly golden. Add the garlic and chile and cook for a few more seconds, until you can smell the garlic. Take care not to brown the garlic. Let cool completely.

Add the feta, scallion, cilantro, parsley, and lemon juice to the chickpeas and season with pepper and a pinch more salt, if needed. Add the cooled garlic oil and the remaining olive oil and mix very well.

Serves 6 as a side dish

Note: I used Pastene canned chickpeas and the skins slid off easily with rinsing. I adjusted some of the other ingredients: I used 1/2 of a large red onion and red pepper flakes instead of the red chilies. Also, I added just enough olive oil to moisten the salad and not the full cup stated in the recipe.

Corn, Off the Cob

noreply@blogger.com (Cocoa and Lavender) — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 17:50:00 +0000

How can anyone resist fresh white corn at this time of year?

Once again, my friend Laura had an overabundance of corn from her farm share. Being the martyr that I am, I grudgingly took it off her hands - you know, just to help a friend in need... Seriously? I could not contain my excitement!

When I got home that evening, I took stock of the ingredients I had on hand. The corn. An avocado. Some flash-frozen Brazilian shrimp from Trader Joe's. A head of butter lettuce. Some leftover saffron mayonnaise. Basil and chives in the garden. Hmmmmm.... With the temperature approaching 110°F (almost 44°C), a chilled salad seemed just perfect.

I got busy shucking the corn, then cooked it the way my mother did - by adding a small handful of granulated sugar to the boiling water. Four minutes is just perfect. While letting it cool, I peeled and deveined the shrimp (reserving the shells for stock), then sautéed the little bugs in some olive oil. I simply tossed the rest of the ingredients together and served it on a bed of butter lettuce.

It was delicious, light and such a perfect vehicle to show off the sweet corn and shrimp with the creamy texture of the avocado.

For dessert, I tried a new sorbet inspired by a recipe in one of my Thai cookbooks, using half a watermelon I got at the farmers market, some kaffir lime leaves from our tree, and some freshly squeezed lime juice. Again, simple ingredients that come together for a refreshing treat.

Stay cool in your kitchens!

- David

Corn, Shrimp and Avocado Salad

4 ears white (or yellow) corn, shucked

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1 Haas avocado

12 large basil leaves, cut into thin strips (chiffonade)

2 tablespoons chopped chives

4 tablespoons saffron mayonnaise (click here for recipe)

butter lettuce leaves, for serving

additional basil leaves, for serving

Bring a large kettle of water to a boil and, once boiling, add a tablespoon sugar to the pot and then add corn. Return to a boil and cook 4 minutes; drain in a colander and let cool.

In a large, nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat and add shrimp. Season with salt and pepper and sauté until shrimps are done and perfectly pink - about 3-4 minutes, depending on the size of the shrimp.

Halve the avocado and remove the pit. Score the flesh both of both halves vertically and horizontally, then remove with a large soup spoon.

Remove the kernels from the corn cobs using a sharp knife - slicing them off into a large mixing bowl. Add the cooked shrimp and avocado cubes to the bowl, along with the basil and chives. Add the mayonnaise and toss together gently; adjust seasoning. Chill salad.

Place butter lettuce leaves on plates and add a scoop of salad to each plate, garnish with basil leaves.

Serves 4.

Watermelon Sorbet

6 tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup water

4 kaffir lime leaves, torn into pieces

1 pound watermelon flesh, cut into chunks

juice of 1 lime

1 teaspoon vodka, optional

sprigs of mint, for garnish

Mix water, sugar and lime leaves in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Once sugar has dissolved, remove from heat cover and let steep for 1 hour.

Place watermelon chunks in a food processor and process a few seconds until slushy. Spoon melon into a mixing bowl and add lime juice. Strain kaffir lime syrup into the bowl and mix well. Chill for 1 hour.

Stir in vodka, if using, and place melon mixture in ice cream maker and process for about 20 minutes. Scoop sorbet into a container and freeze. Let sit at room temperature for a few minutes to soften before scooping into bowls. Garnish with mint sprigs.

Serves 4.