Recipes I'd like to try

Here are two recipes I saw recently that I'd like to try. Just saving them here so that I remember next time!

Cannoli
by Michael Chiarello

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted pistachios
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons golden raisins
• 1 cup chopped bittersweet chocolate
• 1 cup ricotta
• 14 cannoli shells

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Toast the unsalted pistachios in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until crisp. Pull from oven, cool and finely chop. Place chopped pistachios in a bowl.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip the heavy cream with 1 tablespoon of sugar until it holds a soft peak. In a large bowl fold together the whipped cream, raisins, 1/3 of the chopped chocolate, 1/3 of the chopped pistachios and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Gently fold the whipped cream mixture into the ricotta. When ready to serve, spoon the filling into a pastry bag fitted with a fat round tip. Fill the cannoli shells from each end.

Blend the remaining chopped chocolate and pistachios on a plate.

To garnish: Dip each end of the cannoli into the chocolate pistachio mixture.

Cannoli can be filled and stored in the refrigerator no more than 1 hour ahead of time.

This recipe seems like it'd be great with some type of garlic-lemon aioli.

Asparagus and Smoked Salmon Bundles

by Giada DeLaurentiis

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch asparagus, ends trimmed (about 20 spears)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• Pinch kosher salt
• Pinch freshly ground black pepper
• 4 to 6 ounces thinly sliced smoked salmon (1 slice per asparagus spear)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Lay the asparagus on a foil-lined baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with rosemary, salt, and pepper. Roast until cooked and starting to brown around the edges, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer to another baking sheet to cool.

Once the asparagus have cooled, wrap each spear in a slice of smoked salmon. Arrange on a serving platter and serve at room temperature.

A Quick Fix and a Labor of Love

Some delicious food comes together very quickly, while other dishes take more time/effort. Here's one of each.

Labor of Love: Risotto
Ingredients:
1 small yellow onion finely diced
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup arborio rice
2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup water
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup grated aged cheese (asiago, parmagiana, etc.)
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Place vegetable stock and water in a pot and put on medium heat to warm through. Meanwhile, cook onion in butter & olive oil on a low heat about 5 minutes (until it begins to become translucent). Add rice and cook an additional two minutes. Add liquid one cup at a time, stirring until each cup has become absorbed before adding the next. Keep this on a low heat and continuously stir. When almost all liquid has become absorbed, add cream, cheese, salt, and pepper. Serve when it is creamy and tender!

Quick Fix: Smoothies
To make my favorite smoothies, I use frozen berries (I like mixed berries), orange juice, vanilla yogurt, and fresh pineapple. Throw ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. The frozen berries work well because then you don't have to water it down with ice to make it thicker.

Yummy!

Waste Not, Want Not

I hate being wasteful, especially when it comes to food. I even take all of the leftover scraps from fruits, veggies, eggs, etc., and I put them in the blender with water to make compost. I then take that mixture and pour it in my garden. Natural fertilizer :-)

So, in an effort to not waste some over-ripened bananas, I created a recipe. I loosely based it off of two other recipes (one for banana muffins and one for frosting). Let me just say - these are SPECTACULAR! Feel free to try the recipe yourself, and let me know what you think.

Banana Bars with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients
Banana Bar:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 teaspoon baking soda
2/3 teaspoon salt
1/3 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
2/3 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 ripe bananas, peeled and coarsely mashed
½ c chopped walnuts

Frosting:
4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon cinnamon


Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray 13” x 9” baking pan with non-stick spray. To make the banana bars, whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium bowl to blend.

Beat the sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl to blend. Stir in the banana and walnuts. Add the dry ingredients and stir just until blended.

Pour mixture into greased pan and bake for 30 minutes.

To make the frosting, beat all frosting ingredients until light and fluffy. When the banana bars are cooled, spread the frosting and enjoy!

One of my new gadgets - a food mill

Recently I purchased many food gadgets on amazon.com. Three of them arrived today: immersion blender, mandolin, and food mill. I decided to try out the food mill with the most traditional food mill recipe: classic mashed potatoes. For the other recipes, I didn't give credit to the chefs because I altered them. This one I did according to the recipe, so I will credit Tyler Florence. Next time, however, I would add in roasted garlic.

Velvety Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 large Yukon gold potatoes, peeled
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup olive oil, optional (I didn't use this - that just seemed like overkill)
  

Directions:

Warm the cream with the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until the butter melts; set aside.

Put the potatoes in a medium saucepan with cold water to cover. Bring to boil then add 1 teaspoon of salt and reduce the heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until the potatoes are very tender. Drain. Pass the potatoes through a food mill or a ricer into a large mixing bowl. Stir in the warm cream and butter mixture until the cream is absorbed and the mixture is smooth. Season the potatoes with salt and pepper and finish them off by stirring in 1/4 cup olive oil

Out with the Masters, In with Season 6

Before I begin to discuss last night's Top Chef Episodes, I'd like to talk about professional integrity vs. "selling out to the man."

In February, at the SOBE Food Fest, I met Rocco DiSpirito. Now, he was already not one of my favorite celebrity chefs...because he's not even a restauranteur (I think I spelled that right) or a restaurant chef or even a TV show host. He had some "reality" TV show years ago where he threw his mom in a kitchen to cook and the restaurant failed. Then he became known as one of the "25 sexiest men alive" in People magazine. Basically, he's famous for being famous. So, I saw him at the BubbleQ dinner that we attended, and asked for him to sign my Top Chef book. He was mentioned as a guest judge. I also asked him if he liked doing Biggest Loser, another show I enjoy watching. As he's about to walk away, he says something to the effect of..."Go to my website, and download my demos." Ugh...can you be more of a walking advertisement for...yourself?!

Yesterday, as I was preparing for about 3 hrs of Top Chef, I watched TV much of the day. What'd I see? Not one, but TWO commercials with Tom Colicchio. Clearly this was to promote the new season of Top Chef. One commercial is for Diet Coke, the other for American Express. I rely on Tom Colicchio for his sincerity and genuine passion for food...how can he endorse Diet Coke? Couldn't he at least choose a commercial for, like, wild salmon like Ben Stein did? And I thought it was bad when Meatloaf endorsed A1 Steak Sauce...at least that's somewhat ironic.

If I ever see Bourdain in a commercial for Mac n Cheez, I'm done!

Okay, so on to the shows last night. I wasn't thoroughly impressed by anyone on the new season of Top Chef. In fact, I think the challenge was stupid, mostly because half the people could not properly define the word "vice." Perhaps they should've made it about "sin." And the guy who's like a Jewish version of Richard's brother...yeah, he needs to be cut immediately because I just can't deal with that.

The more touching of the two episodes last night was certainly Top Chef Masters. It was pretty awesome, actually. I like the challenges presented on Masters, but last night's was just amazing. For those of you who are actually reading this but did not watch it, it was down to three chefs: Hubert Keller (French cuisine), Michael Chiarello (Italian cuisine), and Rick Bayless (Mexican cuisine). The challenge was to create 4 dishes (I hope I remember these correctly):
1. a dish from your childhood
2. a dish that made you know you wanted to cook
3. a dish from your first restaurant opening
4. a dish that represents your future

The judges were the 5 previous top chef winners, along with the Masters and regular Top Chef judges. The stories were amazing, the comraderie was amazing, and I think the best charity got the $100,000 prize (Rick Bayless - charity to support small farms). You know how people will say "but they were all winners" to make sure no one's ego is crushed? With the three of them, that really is true. I appreciated what all 3 had to present to the judges. And in the way that Colicchio kinda lost some street cred with me, Chiarello definitely picked up the points! He went from some mediocre Food Network chef to someone who I think has a definite culinary point of view and executes dishes well. He was smart...created NapaStyle before becoming too famous, so it DIDN'T look like he was a "sell out."

Outrageous Food

I remember growing up thinking it was funny how Miami Subs had a bottle of Dom Perignon on their menu for about $100. I guess if someone actually ordered it, they'd have to dust off the one bottle in the back?

Anyway, I posted this on my Facebook, but I thought I'd re-post on here. Two outrageous food items:

Read about this dessert!

I guess you can have that after eating Hubert Keller's $5000 burger at Burger Bar in Vegas!

Fruit and Veggie Recipes

Here are some vegetarian recipes I've made recently:

Ceci alla Siciliana
Ingredients:

* 2 cans (14 ounces each) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
* 1 cup celery, including some of the chopped leaves
* 1 small red onion, minced
* 2 tablespoons minced fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley
* 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
* 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 1 loaf ciabatta or Italian bread
* Extra virgin olive oil, for brushing

Directions:

In a large bowl, stir the chickpeas, celery, onion, parsley, chiles, garlic, olive oil, and vinegar. Season, to taste, with salt. Serve immediately or let stand for 1 or 2 hours and re-season just before serving.

Slice the bread into 1/2-inch thick slices on a bias. Toast on a preheated grill or in an oven for 4 to 5 minutes. Brush 1 side with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Spoon some of the chickpea mixture over the bread slices and serve immediately.

California Raisin, Caramelized Onion and Blue Cheese Orzo Pasta
Ingredients:

* 8 ounces orzo
* 1 tablespoon butter
* 1-1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
* 2 red onions, peeled thinly sliced
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
* 1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
* 1/2 tablespoon honey
* 3 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
* 1/4 cup cream cheese
* 1 package (10-ounce) frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
* 1/2 cup golden raisins or dried cranberries
* 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
* 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

Directions:

Cook orzo in boiling salted water for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente. Drain. Meanwhile, heat butter and oil in large heavy skillet over medium heat. Add onions, salt, pepper, vinegar and honey. Sauté 8 to 10 minutes. Then, stir in cooked and drained orzo, blue cheese, mascarpone, spinach, raisins and nutmeg. Heat briefly to warm cheeses. Spoon onto large serving platter. Sprinkle with pine nuts and serve, immediately.


Acorn Squash Stuffed with Wild Rice, Hazelnuts, and Dried Cranberries

*This was good, but could have used a sauce...just not sure what kind, but it needed moisture.

Ingredients:
7 cups water
2 cups wild rice (about 12 ounces)
3 small acorn squash (each about 10 to 12 ounces), cut in half, seeded
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
2 cups finely chopped onions
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup dried cranberries (about 3 1/2 ounces)
1/2 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts (about 3 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

Directions:

Bring 7 cups water and rice to boil in heavy large saucepan. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until rice is tender, about 1 hour. Drain. Transfer rice to large bowl.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Oil baking sheet. Place squash, cut side down, on sheet. Bake until tender, about 40 minutes. Cool. Using spoon, scoop out pulp from squash, leaving 1/4-inch-thick shell; reserve shells. Transfer pulp to medium bowl. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F.

Melt butter in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onions; sauté until very tender, about 15 minutes. Add sage; stir 2 minutes. Add rice, squash pulp and lemon juice; stir until mixed, breaking up squash pulp into smaller pieces. Mix in 1/2 cup cranberries, 1/2 cup hazelnuts and parsley. Season with salt and pepper.

Divide rice mixture among reserved squash shells. Place in roasting pan. Bake squash until filling is heated through, about 25 minutes.

Sliced Baked Apples

Ingredients:
4 McIntosh apples
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, cut into bits
2 tablespoons light rum
1/2 cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Peel and core the apples, and cut into quarters. Then slice each quarter into four slices. Combine butter, lemon juice, rum, brown sugar, and cinnamon with the apples. Bake the apples in the middle of the oven, basting frequently, for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and serve.

Experiencing food

How do you know what you may like if you don't experience it?

A few months ago, I was at Whole Foods. They have a soup and salad bar. I was debating about whether or not I wanted a Tomato Basil soup, so I lifted the lid, fanned the soup towards me, and smelled it. The woman standing next to me made this face like I had killed her mom. She then asked me why I felt the need to put my nose in the soup. I said...so I can smell it. She asked why...and I told her because I wanted to know if it smelled good or not. How else would I know if I wanted it. I think there was a bit more to the conversation, but the bottom-line is, clearly, she does not experience her food.

When I go grocery shopping, I smell my fruit. I smell my cheese. I smell breads. So much of taste is smell, and if you don't experience food with all of your senses, you're just missing out on half the experience.

As a child, I have very fond memories of grocery shopping with my aunt Lee. She taught me to smell my produce and squeeze it for freshness. I can picture her pushing down on one end of a cantaloupe to see if it was ripe. Our shopping trips, just the two of us, are still very special memories to me. Perhaps part of the reason why Lydia will be named after her :-)

Recent Desserts

Here are some recent desserts that I have created. I am afraid that if I just post links, they may not work one day, so I am actually cutting/pasting the recipes here. Also, some are already modified with my own ideas. Sorry if it's somewhat lengthy but, hey, only read it if you want to. If you have any questions, always feel free to ask!

Chocolate Panna Cotta
*I have tried this with both bittersweet chocolate and white chocolate. Either one is absolutely delicious!

Ingredients:

• Canola oil
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 1/4 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
• 2 cups whipping cream
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 5 ounces chocolate
  
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Brush six 3/4-cup glass custard cups with canola oil. Pour milk into medium bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over; let stand until gelatin softens, about 5 minutes.

Stir cream and sugar in heavy medium saucepan over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to boil; remove from heat. Add chocolate; whisk until melted. Whisk warm chocolate mixture into gelatin mixture; stir to dissolve. Stir in vanilla. WDivide mixture among custard cups. Cover and chill 4 hours.

Milk Chocolate Pretzel Tart

Crust ingredients:

• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cups coarsely crushed thin pretzels (3 1/2 ounces)
• 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 large egg
• 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted

Filling ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 3/4 pound milk chocolate, chopped

Directions:

1. Make the crust: In a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the butter with 3/4 cup of the pretzels and the confectioners’ sugar at low speed until creamy. Beat in the flour and egg. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of pretzels, being sure to leave some pretzel pieces intact. Flatten the dough between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, at least 30 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 350°. Roll out the dough between the sheets of plastic wrap to a 12-inch round. Peel off the top sheet and invert the dough over a 10-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Press the dough into the corners and patch any tears. Trim the overhanging dough and refrigerate the shell for 30 minutes or until firm.
3. Line the shell with parchment paper and fill with pie weights. Bake for about 30 minutes, until nearly set. Remove the parchment and weights and bake for 10 to 15 minutes longer, until the tart shell is firm; cover the edge with foil if it darkens too much. Let the shell cool completely. Brush the melted chocolate over the bottom and up the side and refrigerate for 10 minutes, until set.
4. Meanwhile, make the filling: In a medium saucepan, bring the cream to a simmer. Off the heat, add the milk chocolate and let stand for 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth. Transfer the filling to a bowl and let cool to room temperature, about 1 hour.
5. Pour the filling into the shell and refrigerate until set, at least 4 hours. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and crushed pretzels. Cut into wedges, top with crème fraîche; serve.

Chocolate Brownie Pie
Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
• 3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 3 extra-large eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup (4 ounces) chopped walnuts
• 2 to 3 tablespoons heavy cream

Directions:
Grease and flour a 9-inch tart pan with removable sides. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a bowl set over simmering water. Add 2 cups of the chocolate chips, remove from the heat, and stir until the chocolate melts. Set aside to cool completely.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs, sugar, coffee, and vanilla on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Stir in the cooled chocolate. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, 1 cup of the chocolate chips, and the walnuts. Fold the flour mixture into the batter until just combined. Pour into the pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the center is puffed (the top may crack). The inside will still be very soft. Cool to room temperature before removing the sides of the tart pan.

Island Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1 3/4 cups (11.5-oz. pkg.) white chocolate morsels
• 1 cup flaked coconut
  
• 1 cup chopped macadamia nuts
  

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375° F. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Beat in egg. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels, coconut and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

Bake for 8 to 11 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Yields 3 1/2 dozen cookies.

Strawberry Granita

Ingredients:

• 1 cup hot water
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 3 cups sliced hulled strawberries (1 pound whole berries) plus additional berries for garnish

Directions:

Stir first 3 ingredients in small bowl until sugar dissolves. Blend 3 cups strawberries in processor until smooth. Add sugar syrup and blend until combined.

Pour mixture into 13x9x2-inch nonstick metal baking pan. Freeze until icy around edges, about 25 minutes. Using fork, stir icy portions into middle of pan. Freeze until mixture is frozen, stirring edges into center every 20 to 30 minutes, about 1 1/2 hours. Using fork, scrape granita into flaky crystals. Cover tightly and freeze. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep frozen.) Scrape granita into bowls.

Brown Sugar Ice Cream

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1 1/2 cups whipping cream
• 1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
• 6 large egg yolks
• Pinch of salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°F. Bring milk and cream to simmer in medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk sugar, egg yolks, and salt in medium bowl until blended; gradually whisk in hot milk mixture. Return to saucepan. Stir over medium heat until custard coats spoon and temperature registers 170°F, about 4 minutes (do not boil). Transfer to wide shallow bowl and freeze to chill quickly, stirring occasionally, about 40 minutes.

Process custard in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.

My inspiration!

I have two magazine subscriptions: Food & Wine and Allure. I was looking through one of them a day or two ago (not the one you'd expect, though) and came across this quote:

"Let food be your medicine and medicine your food" - Hippocrates, 400 B.C.

I was watching No Reservations the other day, and Bourdain was with Jose Andres, a famous NYC chef who owns the Mini Bar. (He stood in line in front of us at the SOBE Wine & Food fest). Now, if you know anything about cooking and food culture, as Andres explained, anyone who is good at molecular gastronomy says they don't actually do molecular gastronomy. Those who admit to using those techniques aren't very good. Andres says he doesn't...Guess he's pretty damn good at what he does ;-) He then sliced open a small tomato, squeezed it a bit, and the gelatinous middle came up. He explained how amazingly natural this gelatin was, not only because of the texture and appearance, but also the sound as you slurp it. One food item, something that most people eat all the time and think nothing of, offers a full sensory experience. (He also shoved Bourdain's head in a bucket of peaches at a farmer's market until his nose touched the peach fuzz, just to experience the beauty of what nature has created for us.)

People eat for so many reasons...convenience, addiction, pleasure, indulgence, health, necessity...but those who have a true love of food eat out of passion. Admittedly, I eat Easy Mac sometimes because it's "easy." I eat half a bag of Pizzeria Combos because I just can't put them down. I eat Anthony's Coal-Fired Pizza because it tastes good. I eat cheesecake when I am being indulgent. I eat bananas not because I love them, but because I think they're probably good for me and the starchiness usually fills me up. Sometimes I eat whatever is nearby because I am hungry.

I cook with far more purpose...most importantly, because I have a true passion for food. I want to experience food. I want to pick herbs from my garden. I want to get veggies from the farmer's market. I want to smell a fresh fish filet. I want to feel all my food - course, sticky, slimy, messy, grainy, crunchy... I want to watch the look on people's faces when they try something I have cooked.

Cooking has really helped me through my pregnancy, especially the past few months. With the SOBE Food & Wine festival in February (and the amazing experience the next day at the strawberry farm), Julie & Julia last week, an event I plan on going to November 13th for my birthday, etc. I embrace food in so many ways. All summer long, I have experimented with so many delicious recipes, even creating some of my own recipes for sweets (which I NEVER do).

I roasted acorn squash today. It smells like toasted pumpkin seeds in my entire house. It tastes like Jewish chicken broth. It's amazing how food creates emotions, memories...

So what is the purpose of this blog? First and foremost, to document recipes I have tried, if I'd make them again next time, if I really liked them, any possible alterations, etc. Secondly, perhaps I'll inspire someone else I know to get in the kitchen. Thirdly, I want this for my daughter. I want to teach her to appreciate food the same way I do. I want to make her food that makes her smile, makes her feel comfortable, makes her face all messy!

One of my mom's favorite stories about me when I was a baby was when I took a bowl of spinach and massaged it into my scalp. Brilliant! I already wanted to understand food!!

Now on to my first post with recipes...