Tea & Biscuits

May 11, 2020
by kaysdad
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Fried Penne with Mushroom Cream Sauce

Mary Ann Esposito is an American cook, teacher, author and TV personality based in New Hampshire, north of Boston. (I know, I know. Boston is in Massachusetts. This is just by way of a geographical point of reference). Mary Ann is credited with having the longest running TV cooking show, Ciao Italia, which was first broadcast in 1989. She and her TV show are still going strong. Way to go, Mary Ann!

I don’t know how long ago I was watching one of her shows (probably 25 years I would guess) when she prepared this dish. So very simple but oh, so delicious. Dairy products have a particular affinity for anything mushroom and the cream in this dish becomes rich with the earthy aroma and taste of shiitake and porcini mushrooms. The mushroom flavor is boosted by the dried porcini soaking liquid.

Not long after I saw Mary Ann prepare this dish I decided to try it. My wife called from work that day (as she is wont to do even now although like me, she is no longer working) to ask, “What’s for dinner”? when I told her, “Fried penne”, there was a moment’s hesitation before she said, “OK, don’t fry my penne”. And so I didn’t. My daughter and I had the fried penne while my wife had plain boiled penne. She regretted it as I knew she would!

So, fried penne; what’s that all about? Gently frying the pasta in a generous amount of olive oil before adding any liquid gives it a delicate nutty flavor and a slightly chewy texture which goes wonderfully with the creamy mushrooms.

As simple as it is to make, there are one or two things to watch out for. First, frying the pasta: you must stir and agitate the pasta constantly otherwise it will brown unevenly and some penne will be overdone. It goes from just right to burned in seconds so keep an eye on it. The wider your pot is the better, so the penne don’t pile up on themselves and will brown more evenly. Second, as you fry the penne have ready the hot chicken stock. When the pasta is just right, you will add the hot stock which will boil right away. You know how, when you boil pasta the conventional way, you bring your water to a boil and add the pasta and then you bring your pot back to a boil as quickly as possible. In this case you are doing it bass ackwards – adding the hot liquid to the pasta.

If you have never used dried porcini mushrooms before you should be aware that they often have bits of dirt and grit adhering to them. The dirt will fall off and settle in the bottom of the jug (or whatever container you used) as the mushrooms soak. When you pick the softened mushrooms out of their soaking liquid, be sure to do so gently so you don’t disturb the water too much and end up picking up dirt as you go. Similarly, when you pour the soaking liquid out into the pan with the mushrooms, go slowly. As you get to the dregs, stop pouring. Some of that muddy stuff at the bottom of the jug is mushroom dust but hiding in there is grit. Nothing will spoil the experience of eating this dish like chomping down on grit!

One last thing: don’t get too hung up on quantities with this recipe. None of the amounts given are an absolute. If you get close to the mark, that will be good enough. So, with some minimal prep you can prepare the sauce while the pasta cooks and, Voila! dinner is ready in no time. So, here goes…

Serves 4 as a main course or 6-8 as a first course.

Fried Penne with Mushroom Cream Sauce

Penne pasta lightly toasted in olive oil and tossed with a creamy mushroom sauce

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 20

Servings people

Ingredients

1 oz (30g) dried porcini mushrooms rehydrated in 1-1/2 cups (340ml) of hot water
8 oz (225g) shiitake mushrooms – stems removed and cut into thin slices
1/4 cup (110ml) extra virgin olive oil plus 2 TBS (30ml)
3/4 cup (180ml) cream
3 cups (750ml) hot chicken stock
1 lb (450g) penne rigate pasta – the kind with ridges, not the smooth kind
1/2 cup (225ml) brandy or rum
2 oz (56g) freshly grated Parmesan cheese – plus more for serving
salt and pepper

Instructions

Let the dried porcini soak in hot water for at least 30 minutes until soft and pliable. Carefully remove the rehydrated mushroom from the soaking liquid being careful not to disturb the water too much. Squeeze the mushrooms in your hand to remove as much liquid as you can, allowing it to drip back into the jug. You want to save the mushroom liquid which is very flavorful. We’ll add it back later. You should have about 1 cup (240ml) of soaking liquid left in the jug.
Coarsely chop the porcini mushrooms and set them aside with the stemmed and sliced shiitake mushrooms,
Heat the chicken stock in a medium pot and lower the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. If you are using store bought chicken stock there is generally no need to add extra salt to the pasta since the stock has plenty of salt already, but taste it to be sure. If it needs more seasoning go ahead and add it now. For homemade stock, season it with salt to your taste. *See note below
In a large pot heat 1/4 cup (110ml) of olive oil over medium heat. When the oil begins to shimmer add the penne, stirring constantly to agitate the pasta. Keep stirring until the pasta begins to color and become golden brown all over. This will take several minutes. Note that not all of the pasta will be evenly brown but all of them should have some color.
Carefully pour in the brandy or rum. (No need to use the good stuff here, it’s just for flavor). The alcohol will erupt in a cloud of steam so keep you face away from the pot. Let the alcohol reduce, stirring all the time. This will only take about 20-30 seconds.
Add the hot chicken stock which should boil right away. Give the pot one last stir, lower the heat and partially cover the pot to maintain a gentle boil.
While the pasta cooks, heat the remaining 2 TBS (30ml) of olive oil in a 10" frying pan over medium high heat. Add the shiitake and porcini mushrooms and a generous pinch of salt. Reduce the heat to medium and cook the mushrooms, stirring occasionally until tender and the shiitakes begin to release their liquid, about 5 minutes.
Pour in the reserved mushroom soaking liquid, being careful not to get any of the residue at the bottom of the jug into the pan. **See note below. Add in the cream and give the pot a quick stir to combine the liquids and mushrooms. Bring to a boil then lower the heat to medium and let the liquid reduce and thicken slightly, stirring occasionally, about 8-10 minutes
Check on the pasta. It should be almost done by now but with still some stock left in the pot. Add the mushrooms and cream, stir and continue cooking, uncovered, until the pasta is done. Bite one to see. It won't be as soft and tender as boiled pasta because of the toasting process but there shouldn't be any raw pasta at its center. Once the pasta is cooked it should be quite soupy with some liquid left in the pot. That's as it should be: when you add the cheese it will emulsify the starchy, mushroom/cream and create a luscious sauce.
Remove the pot from the heat and let the pasta cool slightly, stirring occasionally to even out the temperature, about 5 minutes. Stir in the cheese and freshly ground pepper to your taste. Stir until the cheese melts and the sauce becomes creamy. If you add the cheese too soon when the pot is very hot it will tend to toughen up and become stringy rather than creamy. Feel free to add more cheese if you like (I usually like…). If you have any on hand you can throw in a handful of chopped parsley for a splash of color and fresh green flavor. Not essential but a nice touch at the end.
Serve on warm plates and enjoy with extra cheese sprinkled on top.

Notes

*Unlike cooking pasta the conventional way in generously salted water, we are not draining excess liquid from the pot so don’t go wild with the salt.

**You will see some residue in the bottom of the vessel you used to rehydrate the porcini mushrooms. Some of that is porcini dust but some of it is grit from the mushrooms. You want to avoid getting any of that in your dish; there is nothing worse than biting down on mushroom grit! It’s worth sacrificing a couple of tablespoons of the soaking liquid to avoid it.

April 22, 2020
by kaysdad
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Pasta alla Carbonara

I first ate Spaghetti Carbonara back the 1970s at an Italian restaurant called Casa Nostra (not to be confused with Cosa Nostra!) in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I was fresh off the farm in those days still with straw in my hair and Italian food, like so many others, was somewhat alien to me. I hadn’t any real idea what I was looking at on the menu and eventually settled on Spaghetti Carbonara. What arrived at the table was this plate full of spaghetti smothered in a luscious, creamy sauce studded with big pieces of bacon. I was in love! I went back many times over the next few years, just for the carbonara and I was never disappointed. (In case you are wondering, at the time I worked on a cruise ship whose home port was San Juan).

Fast forward to 1984 or 5 and I am living in San Francisco. I’ve been dabbling in the kitchen for a couple of years by now and thought I’d give spaghetti carbonara a go. That early in my cooking career I didn’t have any cookbooks yet so my wife and I went down the street to a local book store. We found an Italian cook book with the recipe but the book cost $15 and I wasn’t about to pay that for one lousy recipe (we didn’t have a lot of disposable income in those days!). So my wife found a scrap of paper and a pencil in her purse and she wrote down the recipe as I read it from the book. Feeling a little bit like thieves we left the store and went home to make spaghetti carbonara. And it was awful! I mean really, really bad. I discovered later that I’d missed an important step when dictating the recipe. But I persevered with it and over a period of several months I made a carbonara that was pretty good; not Casa Nostra good but pretty good. Carbonara is a staple in our house to this day and is still one of my favorite things to eat.

I have made many variations of carbonara over the years, some better than others. One version, from a Sicilian chef called Nick Stellino, uses tortellini instead of the more classic long pasta. He has garlic in the sauce too. The version I created back in the 80s has long been relegated to the archives. As I grew as a cook I followed different and, I think, mostly better ways to make it. It served us well at the time though and I’m still quite proud of it having created it myself.

For years I made carbonara the way I made it with no clear notion whether or not I was making it the “traditional” way. Traditional or not, we liked it! Then, a few years ago while visiting Rome I met a Roman chef and I asked her how she makes carbonara. This recipe is based on her method although I don’t doubt there are any number of ways to make a traditional pasta alla carbonara in Rome.

In Rome the bacon of choice for carbonara is guancale (pronounced gwan-CHA-lay. Say it with an Italian accent). Guancale is made like pancetta; that is to say, it is cured with salt, herbs and spices. But while pancetta is made with pork belly guancale is made with the pig’s cheek (Guanca being Italian for cheek). Its flavor and texture are quite different from pancetta and utterly delicious. In many places outside of Italy pancetta can be difficult to find and guancale nearly impossible. But if you are lucky enough to have a resource for it I would urge you to give it a try. Here in San Francisco there are several places where I can buy guancale. I have found though that the herb/spice mix used by different producers varies quite a bit and some are better than others. If you can get it, pancetta works very well indeed and is what I typically use. No pancetta near you? Plain old bacon (streaky bacon) will do just fine, preferably thick cut.

Pasta alla Carbonara comes together quickly and like a soufflé it won’t wait for you so make sure everybody is at the table when you serve it. There is nothing worse than a plate of cold carbonara! Your multitasking skills will be on full display here.

So, the process goes like this:

Place your serving plates in the oven and turn it on to about 150? (65°C). (In Italy it is a crime punishable with a prison term of 30 days and/or a fine of €1,000 to serve pasta on cold plates! No, it isn’t really but it is very bad form and seriously frowned upon).
Set a colander in a large bowl in the sink. This is to drain the pasta and capture the pasta cooking water.
Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. (See my post on How to Cook Pasta here).
While the water comes to a boil you will dice up the bacon and cook it in a skillet until it begins to crisp.
As the bacon cooks you will mix the eggs, grated cheese and pepper in a medium bowl.
By now the water should be boiling. Time to add the pasta and cook according to the package instructions.
Back to the bacon. Using a slotted spoon you are going to remove the cooked bacon to a plate, leaving the bacon fat in the pan. Hey, nobody said this was a healthy dish!
Now it’s time to drain the pasta. This is the important bit so pay attention now.
Drain the pasta into the colander and return the pasta to the empty pot. Save about 2 cups (0.5L) of the pasta cooking water.
All that bacon fat you saved gets stirred into the pasta. The fire under the pot should be off now. All additional cooking comes from the residual heat in the pot and the pasta itself.
Now, slowly pour some of the reserved cooking water into the egg mixture, about 3/4 cup (180ml) or so. Go slowly when you add the water (but not glacially slow!). This is a process called tempering the eggs. That is to say, you want to bring up the temperature of the eggs slowly so they won’t scramble when you add them to the hot pasta.
Pour the warm egg mixture into the pot and toss to coat the pasta. Add more hot pasta water, tossing the whole time until the sauce is rich and creamy. Don’t be shy about adding the water; the pasta will soak it up in a few minutes. (This is the critical step I missed back when I made my first, disastrous attempt at carbonara)
You’re going to let the pasta sit for a minute or two, tossing it a few times and adding more water to adjust the consistency as necessary. You want to keep the pasta and sauce moving, especially at the beginning after you have added the eggs. This is especially important if you are using a heavy bottom pot which will hold a lot of heat and can scramble the eggs if you are not careful.
Now it is ready to serve on your nice warm plates and sprinkled with the reserved bacon bits and extra cheese on top.

That is a lot of words to describe what is in practice, a simple process. But there are a number of pitfalls that can ruin the dish and I feel it is important to point them out.

Carbonara has only a few ingredients: Pasta, bacon, eggs, cheese and pepper. That means these ingredient have to be the very best. You cannot hide an inferior ingredient behind a dozen others.

And now for the recipe:

Buon Appetito!

Pasta alla Carbonara

Pasta with bacon in a rich, creamy egg and parmesan cheese sauce

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 15

Servings people

Ingredients

1 lb (450g) long pasta – spaghetti, fettuccini, linguini or bucatini
4-6 oz (120-160g) bacon – in order of preference: guancale, pancetta or thick cut streaky bacon
4 egg yolks (save the whites for another use)
1 whole egg
3 oz grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese or a mix of both
1 ½ Tsp freshly ground black pepper more or less to taste

Instructions

Put your serving plates in a 150°F (65°C) oven to warm.
Set a colander in a large bowl, in the sink.
Put a large pot of generously salted water on to boil (the water should taste salty, like the ocean)
Cut the guancale or pancetta into 3/8" (10mm) cubes. If you are using regular bacon, cut the rashers crosswise into 3/4" (20mm) pieces. Cook the bacon in a skillet until it has rendered its fat and is cooked through and crispy.
While the bacon cooks, mix together the egg yolks, egg, cheese and pepper in a medium bowl.
When the bacon is done, use a slotted spoon to remove it to a plate and set aside, leaving the bacon fat in the pan.
When the pasta water comes to a vigorous boil cook the pasta to the ‘al dente’ stage according to the package instructions.
Turn off the fire under the pasta and drain it into the colander, capturing the cooking water in the bowl.
Put the pasta back into the now empty pot and stir in the reserved bacon fat. The fat not only adds flavor, it stops the pasta from clumping together.
Save about 2 cups (0.5L) of the pasta cooking water and discard the rest. (You won't need all of the water but it is better to start with too much than not enough).
Gradually pour about 3/4 cup (180ml) of the pasta water into the egg mixture, stirring to thin it out. This is a process called tempering where the temperature of the eggs is gently raised so they won't scramble when added to the hot pasta.
All the remaining cooking is done by the residual heat from the pot and the hot pasta.
Pour the egg mixture into the pot with the pasta, tossing continuously. Dribble in more of the pasta water and continue to toss until the sauce is rich and creamy. Tossing the eggs in the pasta helps to prevent the eggs on the bottom of the hot pot from scrambling. Don't be shy about adding water, the pasta will soak it up. Too little water and the finished dish will be dry and unpleasant to eat.
Let the pasta sit for a minute or two in the pot, tossing a few times. Adjust the consistency with more water if necessary.
Divide the pasta between the warm serving plates and sprinkle with reserved bacon bits and extra cheese.

Notes

Note, there is no additional salt added. That’s because the bacon and cheese are both salty to begin with and the pasta water is also salty.

Feel free to add more fresh ground black pepper if you like. This is a peppery dish but if you have a lower tolerance for the spice, by all means, cut back a little.

It’s best to use fresh ground pepper here so you get all the fragrant nuances of the flavor compounds. Pre-ground pepper will have the heat from piperine (the compound that is the source of the heat) but none of the flavor.

Remember, like time and tide, Carbonara waits for no man. Be sure your guests are seated at the table when you serve it up. There is nothing more unappealing than a plate of cold pasta.

March 31, 2020
by kaysdad
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Spaetzle

I enjoy making traditional Italian pasta but it is a process that can be off putting to some. For home cooks who don’t have an Italian Nona to teach them how to roll out pasta dough by hand, you need a pasta roller and not everybody has one of those. Enter, Spaetzle.

Spaetzle or Spätzle, if you don’t know, is a kind of pasta popular in Germany and many parts of eastern Europe. Unlike its Italian cousin, spaetzle is super quick and easy to make. If you happen to own a spaetzle press so much the better. If not a potato ricer makes a good spaetzle press. You haven’t got one of those either? No problem. Dig out your colander, the one with the large holes and press the batter through that.

This is a spaetzle press. You pour the batter into the hopper and slide it back and forth, allowing strings of pasta to fall directly into the boiling water.

When it comes to regional dishes like Yorkshire pudding or Louisiana gumbo or German spãtzle, there is always a question of authenticity. What makes any of these dishes “authentic”? My response to that is, authentic is what you want it to be. So long as you remain true to the roots of the dish you can make it however you like. A case in point: not long ago I was served what i can only describe as a deconstructed Pasta alla Carbonara. The chef had creatively cut up the spaghetti and deep fried it to a crisp. He set it in a parmesan cream sauce with a soft boiled egg on top and sprinkled it with pancetta bits. All of the elements of a classic carbonara were there but, authentic? I’ll leave that for you to decide!

Spaetzle is one of those dishes that purists will argue over. This version adds milk to the batter rather than water. You can use either.

The process goes like this: you mix up the batter which only takes a few minutes. You let that rest for half an hour. Then you bring a pot of salted water to a boil and pass the batter through your spaetzle press directly into the water. After a minute or so the pasta bits will float to the top and its done. You scoop out the spaetzle and toss it in a hot skillet with a generous knob of butter. You can then dress the spaetzle as you would any other pasta. Not counting the half hour rest the hands on time is around 10 minutes. So, fresh pasta on a Tuesday night? Absolutely doable with this spaetzle recipe.

This recipe is inspired by The Stay At Home Chef who’s German grandmother taught her how to make it.

Spaetzle

A quick "pasta" ready in minutes

Course Side Dish

Cuisine German, East European

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 5

Resting Time 30

Total Time 45

Servings people

Equipment

Spaetzle Press See note below for alternative to a spaetzle press

Ingredients

2 cups (10oz/285g) all purpose (plain) flour
1/4 Tsp grated nutmeg
1 TBS fresh herbs – your choice: parsley, thyme, sage, a mix – finely chopped
Salt and pepper
6 eggs lightly beaten
1/2 cup (120ml) milk or water
1/4 cup (1/2 stick/2 oz/56g) unsalted butter to finish

Instructions

In a large bowl stir together the flour, nutmeg and herbs with a pinch of salt and a sprinkle of pepper.
Add the beaten eggs and about half the milk or water and stir to a smooth batter. If it seems too stiff add more liquid until the batter is just shy of pouring consistency. *See note below. Set it aside to rest for about 30 minutes.
Bring a large pot of well salted water to a boil. While it comes to a boil set a large skillet over low heat and add the butter.
When the water is boiling scoop/pour half the batter into the hopper of the spaetzle press set over the pan to allow the batter to fall directly into the hot water. **See note below. After a minute or less the spaetzle will float. Scoop them out with a slotted spoon into the warm skillet. Repeat with any remaining batter.
Increase the heat under the skillet and briefly toss the spaetzle in the butter to warm them up. Dress the spaetzle however you like and serve immediately alongside roasted chicken or a pork chop. ***See note below.

Notes

*The consistency of the batter is not all that critical. If it is very thin it will simply pour through the holes of the spaetzle press. Too thick and it will need coaxing to get through the holes. A thinner batter will produce long, thin strings of pasta while a stiffer batter will produce a shorter, stubby pasta. With a bit of trial and error you can judge for yourself what you prefer

**If you don’t have a spaetzle press use a colander with large holes. Press the batter through the holes of the colander with a rubber spatula, directly into the hot water

***I like my spaetzle plain, simply tossed in butter with some of the herbs I used in the batter and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. You can add some of your favorite marinara sauce or perhaps a gorgonzola cream sauce. Whatever you decide, the next time you are thinking, “Not spaghetti Bolognese again!”, consider spaetzle instead.

This recipe can easily be halved.

July 5, 2017
by kaysdad
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Almond Cake

Continue Reading →

August 25, 2016
by kaysdad
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Mushroom Risotto – A Discussion, a Recipe and a Demo Video

So, risotto. Whenever I am asked for a risotto recipe my usual response is, risotto is not so much a recipe as a technique. To be sure, there are a few essentials you need to know about the process but ultimately it is just a matter of slowly adding a hot liquid to rice until the rice is cooked. For flavorings you are limited only by your imagination; from a simple cheese risotto to something more elaborate with exotic ingredients such as truffles or saffron and the like. Keeping in mind that the fewer the ingredients the more they need to be the very best you can find.

Let’s talk a little bit about the basic ingredients, starting with the rice; it is after all the star of the show.

The most commonly available rice for risotto is Arborio. It is widely available and makes a fine risotto. It is not the only one though. Many aficionados claim that Carnaroli rice is better for risotto because throughout cooking it retains its “heart”. Properly cooked risotto should be ever so slightly al dente; that is, it should offer a little resistance as you bite on it. Arborio will cook to very soft but Carnaroli will always have that little resistance at its heart. There are a few other risotto rices but not generally available to us.

The liquid most commonly used is chicken stock, although vegetable stock or even plain water can be used. Home made stock is undoubtedly the best (especially if you are doing a simple risotto with only a few ingredients) but a good store bought stock will work as well. Just be careful with the salt. Store bought, even so called, ‘low sodium’, has quite a bit of salt so you may not need all that is called for in the recipe. Taste it and see before you add extra.

Whatever liquid you use needs to be kept just barely simmering as you gradually add it to the rice. You don’t want to have it boiling because it will evaporate too quickly. Nor do you want it too cool. As the rice gently bubbles away in the pot, it should not be allowed to cool down with each addition of stock. If it does, the starches in the rice, now soft (gelatinized) in the hot liquid, may cool down too much and retrograde. That is to say, the starches will solidify and ruin the creamy texture you are striving for in the final dish.

The first liquid added to the rice, before the stock, is dry white wine. If you have a bottle open in the fridge by all means use it. If you want to open a bottle and add a little to the pot and a little to a glass to enjoy while you stir the pot, that’s always a good idea too. We don’t drink much white wine so I use dry vermouth. Vermouth, in my opinion, has three advantages over white wine; first, being a fortified wine it keeps a long time after opening the bottle, and second, it is cheap! (Save the good stuff for your martini.) Thirdly, the properties of vermouth are constant; it doesn’t change with different vintages or different grapes as does white wine.

Parmigiano Reggiano is considered by Italians to be the king of cheeses and it is the cheese of choice for many risottos, although Pecorino Romano is an excellent choice too. Depending on the type of risotto you are making, a little bleu cheese adds a delicious flavor component. By the way, if you are using Parmigiano, get a piece of genuine imported cheese and whatever you do, do not buy that pre-grated stuff in a cardboard tub. The only positive thing to be said about that is, when the tub is empty you can grind it up and use it instead; it tastes about the same!

One last thing…

Normally, when you cook plain white rice you measure 2 parts liquid to 1 part rice by volume, cover the pot/rice cooker and let it go for 20 minutes or so. With risotto we use between 4 and 5 parts liquid to 1 part rice. There are two reasons for this; one is that the pot for risotto is open and some of the liquid will evaporate. The other is that the finished risotto is much looser than simple steamed white rice. In fact, Italians will tell you the risotto should flow on to the plate un’onda, like a wave.

OK, I lied, this is the last thing, honest…

When I make this and most other things I don’t measure out the ingredients (with some notable exceptions) but I recognize that whoever is reading this may need a starting point so I have to quantify the ingredients. Don’t get too hung up on measuring exactly; ‘about that much’ is usually good enough. The exceptions in this case being the rice and the liquid.

OK, now to the recipe demo video…

My sister Helen and brother-in-law Paul were visiting recently from England. Paul is a videographer who films events, personalities and regular folks across the country. His speciality is recording for posterity the life stories of the older generation. Many of his short films can be seen on his Vimeo channel.

Risotto is a perennial favorite in our house and especially mushroom risotto. Having decided on that for dinner one night, Paul asked if he could film the process. As a naturally shy person I agreed but had some reservations about how it might turn out. With his filming techniques and clever editing Paul produced this video. You would almost think I knew what I was doing (said with a smile).

A few words about the film…

In the interest of keeping the film to a reasonable time frame some details are are missing. For example, how long does it take the rice to cook? About 18 minutes or so. When you make ordinary white rice it takes that long to cook. The rice in risotto is no exception. From the time you start adding the liquid it will take about 25 minutes or so before the risotto is ready to serve. At about the 15 minute mark, taste a few grains to see how crunchy it is in the center. It will be decidedly al dente but with experience it will give you a good clue as to how much longer it will take.

Do you have to use dried porcini mushrooms? No. Plain old white button mushrooms will work quite well, as do the crimini (chestnut) I use here. Shiitake mushrooms are good too but a bit on the expensive side. In short, almost any mushroom or combination of mushrooms will work. I like to add the porcini ‘shrooms because of their intense flavor and the soaking liquid is choc full of mushroom flavor as well, which is why I add it to the broth.

Truffle oil? Really? Now I’m not suggesting you run out and buy truffle oil just to make this risotto. I just happened to have some in the fridge so I added it at the end for an extra boost of flavor. Truffles go really well with mushrooms, both being fungi and all. They also compliment eggs. A few drops of truffle oil over scrambled eggs elevates a mundane breakfast into something almost otherworldly. Omelets too. For a flavor home run, how about truffles with a mushroom omelet? (Excuse me a moment while I go and wipe the drool from my chin!) Next time you make mashed spuds, add a tablespoon or so of truffle oil for a special treat. So no, you don’t need to buy truffle oil for this risotto but if you do, there is so much more you can do with it.

One important ingredient for risotto you won’t find in any written recipe is patience! Once your mise-en-place (all the prep work) is done you can expect to spend the next half hour at the stove. That’s were the glass of wine comes in handy!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this demo.

Mushroom Risotto

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 35

Servings people

Ingredients

1 oz (30g) dried porcini mushrooms – (optional)
3-4 cups (750ml-1 L) of low sodium chicken or vegetable broth – *See note below
4 TBS extra virgin olive oil divided
2 TBS unsalted butter divided
12 oz (350g) mushrooms of your choice – roughly chopped
1 TBS fresh thyme leaves
Salt and Pepper to taste – **See note below
1 cup finely chopped onion – about 1 medium onion
1-2 cloves of garlic finely minced
1 cup (7 oz/200g) Arborio or Carnaroli rice
1 cup (250ml) of dry white wine or dry vermouth
2 oz 56g (or more to taste) grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano cheese – grated
1 Tsp truffle oil optional

Instructions

In a small bowl, add the optional porcini mushrooms and cover with 1 1/2 cups (350ml) of hot water. Set aside for 20-30 minutes until the mushrooms are soft. With your finger tips, carefully pick the soft mushrooms out of the soaking liquid and gently squeeze out excess water. Roughly chop the mushrooms.
If using porcini, pour the soaking liquid into a small saucepan along with the chicken broth. Take great care not to get any of the grit in the bottom of the bowl into the pot. (If you want to be very sure, pour the soaking liquid through a coffee filter.) You should have about 4 cups of liquid total. Bring the broth to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce the heat to very low and keep the broth at a bare simmer as you add it to the rice later on. Check the broth for seasoning and add a little salt if necessary.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat 1 TBS of oil and 1 TBS butter over medium high heat. Add the mushrooms along with a good pinch of salt. Sauté 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are cooked. Add the thyme and a few grinds of pepper, stir to combine and set aside.
In a 3-4 quart (3-4L) pot, heat the remaining 3 TBS oil over medium high heat until shimmering. Add the chopped onion and porcini mushrooms and cook 4-5 minutes until the onion is soft and translucent. The onion should not have any color on it. Add the minced garlic and cook 30-60 seconds until the garlic becomes very fragrant. Take care not to overcook or burn the garlic. Add the rice and stir to coat the grains with oil. Continue stirring about 2 minutes to "toast" the rice. That does not mean the rice will change color; you will know when it is ready to receive the broth when the outer edges of the rice grains become translucent, the rice will feel heavy as you stir it in the pot and the grains will make a tinkling sound as they hit the sides of the pot.
Add the wine and stir constantly until the alcohol evaporates and the pot is almost dry. Add about half a cup of the barely simmering broth and stir until it has been absorbed by the rice and the pot is almost dry. Add another half cup of broth and repeat this process until the rice is cooked. The process should take about 18 minutes from the time you begin adding the broth. At the 15 minute mark taste a few grains of rice to see how far it needs to go. It will be quite definitely undercooked but it will let you know how close you are.
At this point add about 1/4 cup of broth to the mushrooms and rewarm over medium heat, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Add the mushrooms to the rice along with the next addition of broth. Continue cooking another 2-3 minutes, adding broth as needed until the rice is cooked but still very slightly al dente. Stir in a final scoop of broth and immediately remove the pot from the heat, cover and set aside 5 minutes.
Stir in the cheese and the remaining tablespoon of butter. For a special flavor boost, stir in about a teaspoon of truffle oil. Serve the risotto immediately in warm bowls.

Notes

*If you are using porcini mushrooms you will have about a cup of soaking liquid left after removing the reconstituted porcinis. Add that to 3 cups of chicken stock to make 4 cups total. If you are not using dried mushrooms, use 4 cups of broth.

**The broth is going to be absorbed into the rice as it cooks so the broth must be well seasoned in order to flavor the rice. Home made broth has little or no seasoning and you need to add enough salt to season the whole dish. Add about 1 Tsp of salt to the warm broth, taste it and add a bit more until you can just taste the salt. Store bought stock has salt already added so be more judicious when adding more. Different brands of stock have different amounts of salt so it may not need any added salt at all. Taste it to be sure.

I’ve added the mushrooms near the end of the cooking time but you can just as well add it near the beginning. Just be sure they are warm enough as you add them so the temperature of the rice does not drop more than a degree or two.

In the video I cooked the porcinis along with the fresh mushrooms. In the instructions above I have you cooking them with the onions. It is the nature of recipes that every time you make it you do something a little bit different until it ‘fits’ you, the cook.. There is no right or wrong. Do whatever feels right to you.

June 30, 2016
by kaysdad
0 comments

Bleu Cheese Scalloped Potatoes

A couple of weeks ago we went to visit some friends who have a small ranch up in Sebastopol in Sonoma County where they raise beef cattle. Kathy was hobbling around with a painful hip so I volunteered to cook dinner. Not surprisingly beef was on the menu in the form of a couple of fabulous steaks that I ended up grilling on the barbecue, along with some zucchini from Kathy’s garden.

I decided on scalloped potatoes to go with the steak because, well, I just like scalloped potatoes and I think they go well with grilled meat. And because we were having steak I added some bleu cheese to the spuds because steak and bleu cheese were meant for each other; one of those culinary marriages made in heaven.

Now, many scalloped potato recipes will have you slice the potatoes, place them in a baking dish, cover them with cream or a béchamel sauce and some cheese and bake them forever it seems (but actually about an hour and a half). As often as not some of the potatoes in the center of the dish are still, even after the long cook time, a bit under done.

For my scalloped potatoes I chose to skip the béchamel and pre-cook the sliced potatoes on the stovetop in a milk/cream mixture. I used starchy potatoes so the starch from the spuds would help to thicken the milk/cream mixture. Pre-cooking them cut the oven time in half and guaranteed no raw potatoes in the final dish. The potatoes turned out pretty good, if I say so myself. Alongside the home grown beef and zucchini it was a good meal, made all the better with good wine and great company.

When it came to writing down the recipe for this post I had to make it again, this time taking note of how much I used of what and how long it cooked, etc. (I don’t pay too much attention to these things as I am cooking; it goes by feel and instinct, commonly called experience!). So, I made it again at home a few days later while I could still remember what I had done. I had a few issues with this second attempt…

It’s a curious thing, I put some ingredients together and make something out of them. My wife says so-and-so wants the recipe. Recipe? There is no recipe! So I go back and try to remember what I did the first time so I can write it down. As often as not the second attempt isn’t as successful as the original “on the fly” and I have to fiddle with it to get something close that I can write down.

In this case though it was definitely operator error! I didn’t have any cream in the fridge, only 2% milk. Never mind, I thought, the potato starch will work its magic and thicken the milk. Well, it didn’t! What should have been a thick, creamy, cheesy sauce cloaking tender slices of potato turned out thin and soupy. All the right flavors were there, it just wasn’t creamy. So, back to the drawing board… I fiddled with the proportions and settled on 2 parts cream and one part whole milk for a smooth, creamy sauce.

In this dish I use two cheeses: one a good melting cheese like Gruyere or Emmentaler which adds to the luxurious texture of the sauce, and also some bleu cheese for its distinctive flavor.

When I was researching for this post I found that there are a great number of ways to prepare this dish; some eerily close to this one. The different styles of preparing the dish have different origins: Potatoes Dauphinoise (or ‘Pommes de Terre Dauphinoise’ to give it its full French title) originated in the Dauphine region of South East France. Potatoes Dauphinoise originally consisted of raw potato slices baked with cream, butter and garlic. Later versions included cheese and some, like mine, pre-cook the potatoes either in the cream mixture or separately in water. The dish is called, alternatively, Potatoes au Gratin or Scalloped Potatoes among others, and the names seem to have become somewhat interchangeable. Call it what you will, it is delectably decadent.

Scalloped Potatoes with Bleu Cheese

Potatoes baked to creamy, cheesy perfection to accompany grilled meat

Course Side Dish

Cuisine French

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 45

Servings people

Equipment

2qt (2L) baking or gratin dish

Ingredients

2 Tbs 30g unsalted butter – divided
2 lb (900g) starchy potatoes – cut in half lengthways and into 1/8" (3mm) slices crosswise
1 cup onion – thinly sliced
2-4 garlic cloves – minced
2 cups (480ml) heavy cream
1 cup (240ml) whole milk
1 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
3 1/2 oz (100g) Gruyere cheese – grated, about 1 1/2 cups
2-3 oz (60-90g) bleu cheese – crumbled, 3/4 to a cup

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Use half the butter to grease a 2Qt (2L) baking or gratin dish. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.
Peel the potatoes and cut them in half lengthways. Cut the potato halves crosswise into 1/8" (3mm) slices. Try and make the slices as even as possible so the potatoes cook evenly. (If you have a mandolin now is the time to dig it out and dust it off.) Add the potatoes, onion, garlic, cream, milk and salt to a medium sized pot. The milk/cream mixture should just barely cover the potatoes. Bring the pot to a boil over medium high fire. Watch that it doesn't boil over. When it begins to boil, lower the heat and boil gently until the potatoes are just barely cooked – no more than 5 minutes. Test with the point of a sharp knife; it should pierce the potato with a slight resistance. Remove the potatoes from the heat.
With a slotted spoon transfer half the potatoes and onion to the prepared dish. Sprinkle with half the pepper and half of each of the cheeses. Transfer the remaining potatoes and onion to the dish and sprinkle with the remaining pepper and cheeses. Pour the cream mixture over the potatoes to cover. You may not need quite all of the cream. Don't over fill the dish or it will bubble over and make a mess.
Cover the dish tightly with foil and set it on the lined baking sheet. (This is to catch any drips and make clean up easier.) Bake for 30 minutes. Carefully remove and discard the foil. Dot the potatoes with the remaining Tbs of butter (and additional cheese if desired). Return the dish to the oven and bake, uncovered, an additional 15 minutes until the top is lightly browned and bubbling.
Let the potatoes cool 15 minutes before serving.

June 13, 2016
by kaysdad
10 Comments

Pots and Pans

Pots and pans are among the essential pieces of kitchen gear, along with a good knife, bowls and a spatula. I don’t know about where you live but here I can walk into any department store, Costco, restaurant supply house, specialty cookware store and even the supermarket, and find a dizzying array of pots and pans to choose from. What’s a person to do? How do you know what kind to buy? Unless you have some basic understanding of the various materials and manufacturing processes it can be a bit of a crap shoot.

The first thing to know about pots and pans is this; there is no one type of pot/pan that will do it all. Each one has its pros and cons.

For a couple of generations now some of the most popular pots and pans have non-stick coatings for pretty obvious reasons; food doesn’t stick and clean up is easy. What can be better than that? Well, a few things actually but we’ll get to that later. Let’s take a look at some of the more common material options available to us:

Aluminum or Aluminium (depending on which side of the pond you live) – It has excellent heat conducting properties, almost as good as copper but at a fraction of the cost. Uncoated aluminum isn’t that common outside of commercial kitchens but it is available to home cooks from restaurant supply houses. Cooking with uncoated aluminum cookware is fine so long as it does’t involve any acids which can result in discolored food with a distinct metallic taste. There are some tenuous links between aluminum and Alzheimer’s disease but that is a contentious issue and since I have no medical knowledge I’ll leave that one alone! I personally have no qualms about using uncoated aluminum, but that’s just me. I’m not advocating for it one way or the other; it is purely a personal choice we must each make. Most of the aluminum cookware available at retail is coated with some kind of nonreactive material. More on that later.

Hard Anodized Aluminum – You’ve seen these; thick, heavy, black aluminum with no applied coating. Anodized aluminum is made by dipping the utensil in an acid bath and passing an electric current through it. Some molecular magic takes place on the surface of the aluminum and it turns black and incredibly hard. Harder, in fact than steel, making it safe to use with metal utensils. The open pores of raw aluminum are closed up in the anodizing process making the pot (kinda) non-stick. It’s not non-stick like Teflon is non-stick but it’s better than raw aluminum or stainless steel or plain carbon steel which have absolutely no non-stick properties at all. The one major drawback to anodized aluminum is again, acidic foods. (Curses! Is there nothing to stand up to acidic foods?) In this case, acid is used to create the hard, non-porous surface and it is acid that will remove it. If you cook enough acidic foods in your anodized pot (like tomato based sauces for example), it will cause the surface to revert to its raw aluminum state eventually. If you make a pot of marinara and store it overnight in the fridge, still in the pot, the anodized surface will be gone in the morning. Putting these pots and pans in the dishwasher is generally not recommended either so it becomes bit of a chore washing them by hand. A minor negative point but still…

Non-Stick – Non-stick cookware is pretty much ubiquitous all over the world. Most non-stick pans are made from aluminum because it it cheap and has excellent heat conducting properties. It used to be Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE for short) was the only non-stick coating on cookware. The best known formula being Teflon, but these days there are variety of other, non-toxic alternatives to choose from.

(As an aside, Teflon was discovered in 1938 in a DuPont laboratory where an experiment went wrong. That failed experiment had a major impact on the rest of the 20th century. In the 1940s and 50s Teflon was used primarily in the electronics industry. Then around 1962 or so, a frustrated French housewife said to her engineer husband, “If this stuff is so good why don’t you put it on my frying pan?” (or words to that effect) and the rest, as the saying goes, is history. The coating at the time was marketed as TEFAL for Teflon Aluminum, and later shortened to T-fal, a product still available today.)

Non-stick coatings allow for low fat or even fat free cooking, touted as “healthy” (don’t even get me started!!) When it is new non-stick coatings work really well. The trouble is they don’t last long before the non-stick properties start to deteriorate and worse, bits of the coating material start to flake off, some of the particles undoubtedly being ingested along with the food. Perhaps the most damaging aspect of PTFE coatings to humans is Polymer Fume Fever, commonly called Teflon Flu. Under normal circumstances a pan is heated on the stove top and food or liquid is added, keeping the temperature of the pan relatively low. However, a dry pot left on the heat unattended will quickly reach temperatures in excess of 500°F (260°C) at which point the PTFE begins to degrade. Gas byproducts of the degradation process, when inhaled, cause flu like symptoms. The takeaway from this? Don’t leave a dry PTFE coated pan unattended on the flame!

As mentioned earlier, other non-stick, non-toxic coatings have popped up in recent years. So called ceramic coatings are PTFE free and so do not pose any of associated health risks. I’m not a huge fan. I have a couple of ceramic coated frying pans that look to be in pristine condition. Not a mark on them but they have long since lost any non-stick properties.

One thing to remember about cleaning non-stick pans, never ever put them in the dishwasher, even if the manufacturer say it is dishwasher safe. The harsh chemicals from the dishwasher detergent will destroy the non-stick coating in no time flat.

Most non-stick cookware is relatively inexpensive (although some brands can get quite pricy) but still, don’t go for the cheapest options. You want to look for a pan that is fairly substantial; that is, not obviously flimsy, and the handle should be riveted on to the pan. On some less expensive models the handle is screwed on to the pan and over time the screw will come loose. You can dig out your Philips head screwdriver and crank that thing down but I can tell you from experience it will never be tight again.

All in all though, coated aluminum is a good choice for cookware because it is durable, easy to maintain and relatively inexpensive. You get a couple of years out of your non-stick frying pan then chuck it and buy a new one.

Cast Iron – Some people swear by these pots and aficionados will use nothing else. On the plus side, cast iron is inexpensive, especially when you consider its longevity. A well cared for cast iron piece is literally an heirloom lasting generations. The more often it is used, the better it becomes. However, that kind of long service comes at a price; not monetary but in terms of tender loving care. It takes a lot of use and some initial frustration before the cast iron is properly seasoned and develops a non-stick surface almost as good as an applied coating. I’ve had my cast iron skillet for over 20 years (cost me $10 at the time, about $30 now) and I can fry eggs in it without them sticking. To get to that stage (and keep it there) I had to scrub it clean with salt and oil, rinse it out in warm water – No Soap – heat it over a flame on the stove top and wipe it with a thin coat of oil. It is now sufficiently seasoned that a quick rinse and a wipe with a plastic scrubber pad and a hint of dish soap is enough to get it clean. It still has to be heated on the stove top and wiped with oil after each use though. Never, ever, ever does it go in the dishwasher! Now, that said, it isn’t exactly the end of civilization as we know it if some innocent with good intentions maltreats your prized cast iron pan. In a worst case scenario the seasoning you have spent many hours over many months building up will be gone and you will have to start all over again from the beginning. I’ve made it clear to my dearly beloved that if ever that should happen it will bring into question the future of our relationship! I think the message got through…

Another plus for cast iron is its capacity to retain heat. It is not a particularly good conductor of heat but it holds a lot of it. That is to say, it takes a huge amount of heat energy to heat the pan up and all that energy is stored in the pan. When you add cold food to a hot pan, heat is transferred from the pan to the food and the food cooks. If you drop a piece of meat in an aluminum pan, for example, which does not have the heat capacity of cast iron, the meat robs the pan of its heat and cools the pan down immediately. It takes a lot more heat energy to transmit through the pan to the meat to get a good sear which translates to good flavor. If you don’t have a good heat output from your burner it can take a while to get the pan hot again. In the meantime the meat is stewing in its juices instead of developing a nice brown, flavorful crust. With cast iron it takes a while to get the pan screaming hot but when you drop in the steak, the pan hardly cools down at all, resulting in a crust on the meat that is GB&D (that’s Golden Brown & Delicious).

On the down side, cast iron is heavy! You’ve seen these TV chefs who dump a load of chopped veggies in a frying pan and give them a toss now and again, flipping the pan in that theatrical way they do. You’d break your wrist if you tried that with a large cast iron pan. To give you an idea, my 12″ (30cm) aluminum, non-stick pan weighs 2 1/2 lb (1.15 Kg) and my 12″ cast iron pan is almost 8 lb (3.5 Kg)!

The handles on cast iron pans (I’m talking about the one piece pans, not the ones with separate wooden handles) are short and stubby and they get just as screaming hot as the rest of the pan. It’s easy to get burned if you forget your pot holder. And there is the aforementioned special care and attention they need. Still, I recommend having at least one cast iron pan, properly seasoned, for those occasions when nothing else will do.

Enameled Cast Iron – Taking the cast iron idea to the next level, a French company called Le Creuset takes a raw cast iron pot and coats it in enamel. The interior enamel is usually a light beige color while the outside comes in a variety of attractive colors. (Sounds like a commercial now, doesn’t it?) The enamel is not and never will be non-stick but that’s OK. It makes up for it with its durability.

Le Creuset pots and pans are hugely expensive and to many households, cost prohibitive. The reason for the high cost (apart from the fact they can get away with it) is the production methods and materials used. There are many enameled cast iron pretenders out there much cheaper than Le Creuset (though still not all that cheap) whose product is not nearly as good. Le Creuset enameled pots are at the opposite end of the price range from plain cast iron but like plain cast iron, a Le Creuset piece will last a lifetime without the tedious care needed for it’s naked cousin.

Plain Carbon Steel – This material has become more popular recently. It has many of the benefits and drawbacks of cast iron; it is very durable and it needs to be seasoned and cared for like cast iron but is more expensive. it is much lighter than cast iron too, making it easier to handle. I have no first hand experience with this material so I am not really qualified to offer any opinion. I will say that in my research I saw that reviews on carbon steel cookware are mixed. If you are in the market for new cookware you might consider this but do your own careful research before you buy.

Stainless Steel – Ever more popular in recent years, stainless steel cookware has become almost as ubiquitous as non-stick pans. As with all kinds of cookware there is the good stuff, the not so good stuff and the downright bad stuff. Needless to say, you will pay more for the good stuff but if your budget can run to it, when it comes to stainless steel cookware this is the time to splurge and don’t waste your money on the cheap stuff. In this case the old adage, “you get what you pay for”, was never more apt.

Stainless steel is impervious to pretty much anything, even that accursed acidic food that is the enemy of aluminum. You may hear that salt will cause pitting in stainless steel and so it will. However, that takes a really long time and in the kitchen, unless you leave a pot of salted water sitting on the counter while you go on vacation for a month, salt pitting isn’t going to be an issue.

Stainless Steel is a really bad conductor of heat. A plain stainless steel pot will get hot where the flame touches it and stay relatively cool where it doesn’t, creating unwanted hot spots. (Beware thin, cheap stainless steel pots!) To get around this manufacturers sandwich a good heat conductor (usually aluminum) between layers of steel so you get the heat conducting benefits of the core and the durability of the steel. Some models have a copper core for its superior heat conducting properties for which you pay a premium. The aluminum core models are expensive enough as it is and the difference in performance is negligible.

Some stainless steel pans have a thick bottom with its heat conducting core and thin, single ply steel sides. It is a compromise and one I don’t recommend. These pots are intended for use with induction cook tops because the thick plate of the base won’t warp. The fully clad pots and pans where the core goes all the way up the sides are far superior and as mentioned, if your budget can manage it, they are the better choice. As expensive as they are, the good ones will last pretty much for ever with normal use and are a good investment.

Copper – Actually, not that common these days but still available, copper has one distinct advantage over all other materials, it is an excellent heat conductor. That means even heat distribution and virtually no hot/cold spots.

The drawbacks to copper cookware are many. In the first place uncoated copper reacts to acidic foods and produces toxic byproducts. That’s why the inside of copper cookware is usually coated with a non-reactive material, traditionally tin. As the tin coating wares off the pot has to be sent away to be re-tinned, an expensive and inconvenient process since you don’t have the use of the pot for the duration. These days copper cookware is more likely to be lined with or sandwiched between layers of stainless steel. If the outside of the pot is exposed copper it needs to be cared for regularly otherwise it will tarnish and loose one of its most endearing qualities – its stunning good looks. And lastly, copper is very expensive! So, unless you have pots of money (pun intended) there is no benefit to owning copper cookware other than bragging rights.

To wrap it up – So what does all this boil down to? Well, first off, don’t go cheap. Fork out for the good stuff if you can, take care of it and it will last a long time. Buy a cast iron pan, get it seasoned and it will cook meat like no other. Save up and get yourself a large Le Creuset Dutch oven (casserole) type pot for great pot roasts, soups and stews. Use good quality stainless steel for every day, general purpose cooking and get a small, medium and large non-stick frying pan for delicate foods.

Cookware manufactures are constantly innovating and new products are being introduced to the market all the time. Some are worth a second look but it seems to me that the old standbys are a reliable choice. Newer products tend to be very expensive, notably a product called Hestan which is one of the most expensive brands on the market, way out of reach for the average household.

And one last piece of advice, don’t buy a cookware set. You are going to end up with at least one piece in the set you will never use. Better to buy just the pieces you need.

June 13, 2016
by kaysdad
2 Comments

Writing a Blog

So, what makes for a successful blog? There are any number of factors I suppose but conventional wisdom has it that certain elements are essential to success. The content, for example, must be good. Nobody wants to read gibberish after all. Good grammar and an easy to read style will encourage readers. Where appropriate a little humor doesn’t go amiss either. And, I am assured, a photograph or two helps. But perhaps the single most important element for a successful blog is to actually write on it!!! (“Bless me Father. It has been 7 months since my last blog post”. Non catholics may not get that reference but that’s OK).

And therein lies my problem. As much as I love to cook, learn and talk (ad nauseum) about food, I seem to stumble at writing about it. It’s not that I don’t want to write about food. I do, really I do. It’s a question of carving out a block of time to do it. Until recently that has been a problem because of certain commitments I had which broke up my week into unworkable little bits. Now I have some free time and hope to write on a more regular and frequent basis.

As I write this I think of those successful bloggers who hold down a full time job, raise a family, have a life and still make time to write and I am in awe of them. The process for writing though is different from one writer to another. For me, I need total peace and quiet with no distractions. My mind has to be calm so my thoughts can be ordered. (I sometimes think I should learn to meditate so I can get to that place more readily.) I also do a lot of research before I put pen to paper, or more correctly, fingers to keyboard; another time consuming activity.

Since my time has been freed up somewhat I now have to rethink how it can be restructured to allow me to do all the things I want to do, including writing about food. (I’ve managed these few paragraphs and that’s a good start!) In the meantime, thank you for taking the time to read these musings and I hope to return to regular food writing soon.

Stay tuned…

November 4, 2015
by kaysdad
0 comments

Biscotti

Biscotti. You know, those long, tooth breaking fingers of biscuit often sold in coffee shops wrapped in cellophane. Now, to be fair, they are supposed to be that hard; they are made for dunking in your latte or, if you are really posh, your glass of vin santo after dinner.

Biscotti – Italian meaning twice cooked – can trace its history back to Ancient Rome where they were carried by the Roman soldiers on their military campaigns. Similar to the hard tack found on British naval vessels of old, the Roman biscotti must have been pretty unpalatable. Made with a simple dough, baked to cook it and baked a second time to thoroughly dry it out, biscotti had an almost indefinite shelf life.

By the time of the Renaissance period in Italy, Tuscan bakers began to spiff up the lowly biscotti, adding almonds, anise and a variety of other ingredients. Different regions across the Italian peninsula added their own local twists resulting in the huge variety of biscotti available to this day. Biscotti were elevated from basic sustenance for Roman soldiers to the sweet treat we all know today.

I was asked recently to make some biscotti, something I realized I hadn’t done for some years. I had forgotten just how incredibly simple they are to make, and how very delicious.

My go to recipe has usually been from a briliant pastry chef in SF, called Emily Luccetti and calls for almonds, anise seeds and citrus zest. For this request though, I wanted something different. So, I consulted a web site called, Serious Eats whose recipes from contributing chefs are invariably trustworthy. Not something that can be said of many recipes found on the web!

Lucy Baker, contributing chef on Serious Eats, posted a recipe for Bacon Chocolate Chip Biscotti. Bacon and chocolate chips? Seriously? I was intrigued enough to give it a try and boy, I am glad I did! Buttery sweet biscuit studded with morsels of chocolate and slightly salty bacon bits. They were wildly popular with the boys I made them for.

As I mentioned before, biscotti are often tooth breaking hard and that is by design. Because of the butter in these biscotti they never get that hard. Instead they have a softer texture which means you don’t need coffee or wine to eat them. But that’s no excuse for not having coffee or wine, is it?

As impressive as they are to look at and as delicious as they are to eat, biscotti are amazingly simple to make. I’ve often said, the only thing easier than making biscotti is getting a scoop of ice cream from the freezer. As to flavors and sticking with the chocolate chip theme, I’ve made these substituting grated orange zest for the bacon (as shown in the photo at the top of this post). I’ve also added chopped crystalized ginger; ginger being my wife’s favorite. Next time you are at a bakery, check to see what flavor profiles they use in their baked goods for ideas on what you might like in your biscotti.

The recipe below is inspired by Lucy Baker’s Bacon and chocolate Chip Biscotti on Serious Eats.

Enjoy!

Biscotti

Clasic Italian cookies, perfect with a cup or coffee or a glass of your favorite desert wine

Course Snack

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 50

Servings cookies

Ingredients

5 Strips of Bacon – *See note below
10 oz (2 cups, 285g) All Purpose (Plain) Flour
1-1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
1/4 Tsp Salt
3/4 cup (5-1/4oz, 150g) Sugar
4 oz (1 stick, 113g) unsalted Butter – soft room temperature
2 Large Eggs – lightly beaten
1 cup (6oz, 170g) Chocolate Chips – semi sweet

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 350°F (175°C) with the rack in the middle position .
Cook the bacon – not too crispy. Cool and finely chop.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
In a small bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
In the bowl of a food mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar at medium high speed until light and fluffy.
Gradually beat in the eggs, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed just until barely combined. There should still be some raw flour visible.
Add the bacon bits and chocolate chips. Continue to mix about 20-30 seconds to distribute the add-ins.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board and gather the dough to form a cohesive mass.
Divide the dough in two and roll each piece into a log 10" (25cm) long and about 2" (5cm) diameter. You need to work quite quickly here. As the sugar hydrates it will make the dough very loose and sticky. Don't worry if your dough logs are not perfect, the biscotti will still taste fabulous.
Transfer the logs to the prepared cookie sheet at least 3" (8cm) apart. Flatten the logs slightly.
Bake 25-30 minutes until the dough is a light golden brown.
Let the baked logs cool on the sheet pan. They are very soft when hot and need to cool before they can be handled without falling apart.
Cut the logs on a bias about 3/4" (18mm) wide. A serrated bread knife is best for this. (You can't really bake those stubby little end pieces a second time so they are a little treat for the baker).
Return the biscotti to the cookie sheet, cut side up and bake another 10 minutes. Flip the biscotti over to expose the second cut side and bake another 5-10 minutes. **See note below. You can control the crispness of the biscotti by how long you bake it the second time; the longer it bakes, the drier and crisper the biscotti will be.
Let the biscotti cool completely before serving with a nice cup of tea, coffee or white wine. Remember, biscotti were created to last a long time. These will keep a week or more in an airtight container, if they last that long!

Notes

*Most bacon sold in the US is from the pig’s belly and is the preferred bacon in this application. In the UK it would be sold as streaky bacon.

**Most biscotti recipes have you do the second bake with the biscotti cut side up for several minutes and then flipping them over with the second cut side up to bake several more minutes. You can do the second bake with the biscotti right side up but the bottom will get very dark and overdone. To avoid that you can do one of two things:
1. If you have a wire cooling rack, place it in the sheet pan and the cut biscotti on the rack, right side up. Bake for the recommended 15-20 minutes or to your preferred degree of crispness. Raising the biscotti above the surface of the sheet pan allows air to circulate around the cookies and prevents them from over browning on the bottom.
2. Double up the sheet pan (place a second sheet pan under the first). The slight air gap between the sheet pans will insulate the the biscotti and prevent over browning.

August 12, 2015
by kaysdad
0 comments

Roasted Acorn Squash with Quinoa and Mushrooms

“You are what you eat”, the old adage goes. I have never fully understood what that means. I read somewhere that it literally means what it says; that on a seven year cycle the cells in our bodies are replaced and what replaces them are cells from the foods we eat to fuel the body. If that is so, I imagine it is an over simplification of a very complex process.

Does it have a more symbolic meaning where the food we eat becomes a metaphor for the nature of our character? I still don’t have a clear understanding of what it means. There is no doubt in my mind though, that what we eat directly affects our health and well being. At the risk of stating the obvious, a diet of junk food with empty calories, hydrogenated fats and wholly unnatural additives that were never intended to be ingested by humans is bad for us. While eating whole foods, minimally processed and prepared with thought and care is good for us. Ask any nutritionist and they will all agree that that is so. Well, almost!

I have seen on TV all kinds of healthy eating evangelists who often times contradict each other, each convinced his/her way is the only way to eat and any deviation will likely lead you to an early grave. One will come on TV and preach, “Fat is bad for you and here is the science to prove it”. Another will come on TV and preach, “Fat is good for you and here is the science to prove it”. Others will say the same about carbs, one saying they are bad and another saying they are good. Similar arguments are made for meats, grains, etc. I even heard a guy saying once that cholesterol is good for us and here is the science to prove it. Really?

So, what are we mere mortals to do with our food choices? Apply some basic common sense, I say.

In another post for Multigrain Salad I made mention of nutritionist, Dr. Connie Guttersen’s book, The Sonoma Diet of which I am a huge fan. The fundamentals of the diet are: There are good fats and bad fats, good carbs and bad carbs. Eat the good, avoid the bad. That, along with portion control and exercise – no getting away from that, I’m afraid – and you’ve got yourself a healthy diet/lifestyle.

Another well known nutritionist is Dr Joel Furman. He has the medical degree and I’m not about to argue with him but his philosophy on food preparation goes to an extreme in my opinion and while his diet regimen is undoubtedly healthy, it’s not to my taste – pun intended!

Dr John La Puma is a medical doctor and a classically trained chef. He is a believer in the concept of Food as Medicine, as no doubt are most other nutritionists. Dr La Puma’s recipes are designed such that virtually every component has a medicinal advantage intended not to cure disease, but to prevent it. You can read more about Dr La Puma, ChefMD at his web site here.

I like Dr La Puma’s approach because you don’t have to think about the nutritional value of his food; that’s built in to each recipe and is a given. So what’s left? The taste, and it’s pretty darned good. His recipe for Roasted Acorn Squash Stuffed with Quinoa is pretty simple to prepare and it doesn’t take forever to make either. While the squash is roasting for half an hour you can prepare the quinoa filling and have dinner on the table in under an hour, start to finish. I’ve taken some liberties with the recipe, adding mushrooms and shallots and cooking the quinoa in chicken stock rather than vegetable stock. My version is not vegetarian because of the chicken stock but you can revert back to Dr La Puma’s original recipe and use vegetable stock.

Cut the Squash in half and scrape out the seeds

Basically you cut the squash in half across the “equator” and scrape out the seeds and fibers.

You will want to cut a bit off the pointy end so it will sit up straight for presentation.

Roast until a knife easily pierces the flesh

Brush a tiny bit of olive oil and a light sprinkling of salt in the “bowl” of the squash and roast, cut side down in a 400°F (200°C) oven for half an hour until a knife slides easily into the flesh.

Before — Meanwhile, you will sauté some sliced shallots and chopped mushrooms in a pot until the ‘shrooms are cooked. You can see from the before and after photos how much the mushrooms reduced.

Next you stir in the curry and orange zest. I’m using curry paste here but regular curry powder works great too.

Then you add the stock and the well rinsed quinoa, bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat and simmer 15-20 minutes till the liquid is absorbed and the quinoa is tender.

Add the beans when the quinoa is almost done

5 minutes before the quinoa is done, add the garbanzo beans to the pot to warm through.

Stuff the squash with the quinoa/mushroom filling and serve — Stir the mint and pepitas into the quinoa, check for seasoning and fill the squash halves. If you like you can drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil over the top and garnish with a mint sprig. Totally not necessary but, what the hey. Nothing wrong with an elegant presentation, right?

Roasted Acorn Squash Filled with Mushrooms and Quinoa

A simple and very healthy preparation for a quick weeknight dinner

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 30

Total Time 45

Servings people

Ingredients

The Squash

2 acorn squash – about 4-5" (10-12cm) in diameter
4 Tsp olive oil
Kosher or sea salt

The Filling

1 1/2 TBS olive oil
2-3 TBS shallot – thinly sliced
1/3 lb (150g) mushrooms – finely chopped
1/2 Tsp salt
1 1/2 Tsp mild curry powder – or curry paste
2 Tsp orange zest – finely grated
1 1/4 cups (300ml) vegetable stock, chicken stock or water
1/2 cup (100g) quinoa – rinsed well under cold running water -*See note below
1 cup canned garbanzo beans (chick peas) – drained and rinsed
1/2 cup mint leaves – chopped
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas) – or chopped almonds

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a sheet pan or roasting pan with parchment paper.
Cut the squashes in half across the “equator”, scrape out and discard the seeds and fibers. Cut a little bit off the pointy end so the squash will sit upright for presentation.
Spread 1 Tsp of olive oil in the cavity of each squash half and sprinkle lightly with kosher or sea salt. Place the prepared squash halves, cut side down on the sheet pan and roast until tender – about 30-35 minutes. The point of a paring knife should slide easily through the flesh.
While the squash roasts heat 1 1/2 Tbs of olive oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add the sliced shallots and stir for a minute or two until they begin to soften. Add the mushrooms which should be chopped about the size of the garbanzo beans. Season with salt and cook, stirring occasionally for 5-6 minutes or until the mushrooms are soft and reduced a bit. They will give off some of their moisture and as that liquid evaporates it will concentrate the mushroom flavor.
Stir in the curry powder and orange zest. Add the stock or water to the pot along with the quinoa. Increase the heat to high and bring the stock to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover the pot and simmer until all the liquid is absorbed and the quinoa is fully cooked and tender, about 15-20 minutes.
About 5 minutes before the quinoa is done and there is still some liquid in the pot, add the garbanzo beans to warm through. When the quinoa is cooked and all the liquid is absorbed, remove the pot from the heat and stir in the mint and pepitas (pumpkin seeds). Check for seasoning and adjust accordingly.
When the squashes are cooked and tender, place one half on each plate, cut side up, fill the "bowl" with the quinoa mixture and serve. Garnish with a mint sprig and a drizzle of olive oil.

Notes

Quinoa seeds are coated with a bitter substance which is natures way of discouraging birds from eating them. People too! If you don’t rinse it off you will taste the bitterness. Place the uncooked quinoa in a fine mesh sieve and rinse it under cold running water for about 15 -20 seconds before adding it to the pot.

The thin skins of the squash is edible but I don’t particularly care for it so I eat this with a spoon, scraping down the inside of the skin to capture as much of the flesh as I can.