When Ilana Met Pantry

Haven't forgotten you... or Tom.

2006-11-14T11:15:00.000-05:00

Hi, folks. Well some of you may be wondering where the heck I've been. My head has been all over the place lately and so I've decided to dip into other sources for foodie inspiration. My current musings are found on my other blog and you are welcome to dip in and out of there and here to see what I'm up to.

I haven't abandoned this project at all. In fact, I find that I make up recipes using the ingredients I already have at home. It is getting colder and darker out there so the more I spend time in front of the warm stove, and not strategically zigzagging around my neighborhood for ingredients, the better. Tom's philosophy of use-what-you-have has been my inspiration for it all.

xoxo
Ilana

The Season for Soup

2006-10-28T16:48:00.000-04:00

Today was one of those days that you wanted to stay inside -- it was windy, and rainy, for a bit. A day that cried out for soup!

125. Potato, Watercress and Nutmeg Soup - *Soup*

This soup is one of the 'jazzed-up' potato soups in CL. It is, indeed, just the basic potato soup recipe, with the inclusion of nutmeg, and then watercress at serving.

Like the other soups in this chapter, Tom doesn't use a ready-made stock as the base. Instead, the 'stock' resulted from the sweating of the initial ingredients. These were chopped onions, garlic and salt in a little bit of olive oil.

Then, the chopped potatoes were added with some grated nutmeg, and a little bit of water is added.
This was left to simmer for 20 minutes until the potatoes were close to falling apart. At this stage, a bit more water can be added to get the desired consistency. I didn't end up adding that much more water since I added more than enough in the beginning.

Tom says to make the soup cute and 'two-tone', it would be a good idea to chop up the watercress extra finely and kind of swirl it into the soup. I was mechanical enough to get it chopped extra small -- that's what a mezzaluna is for -- but not enough to really get the swirly action going. Here's my honest attempt at 'cute':

Well, nevertheless, it was delicious. A hearty and feel-good soup to warm the soul on a crappy day outside. The sun soon came out after we ate the soup, and that truly reflected my mood. :) Thanks, Tom!

It looked pretty...

2006-10-26T19:05:00.000-04:00

I usually have high hopes for dinner. I think that my meal is going to be so fantastic that Rafa will do one of those silly dances seen in musicals and cry from every rooftop how remarkable his wife is. I'd be Wife of the Year. Erm, that doesn't happen. Which is not to say that Rafa doesn't appreciate my cooking at all - it's just that there are certain things that he doesn't like, actually many things. I have been dying to cook out Cupboard Love but haven't found the inspiration at all because I'm running out of the recipes that are begging to be made. Also, our dinner schedules have been complicated as Rafa usually works very late, which would mean, if we ate together, I'd have to wait until then to eat, or we would eat in shifts, but then that would only be worth it if the food was cold to start with or able to be reheated OR if it is something we both like. As you could see, complicated stuff. Dinner shouldn't be that complicated. And this coupled with the feelings I get every once in a while that my life is meaningless and I'm wasting it away and I can't get out of the vicious circle of overeating and feeling like crap about how fat I look ....
haha, sorry for that. But really, blogging is a lot cheaper than therapy! LOL.

So....... back to dinner. We had some leftover sausages from Nigella's One-Pan Sage-and-Onion Chicken and Sausage (FEAST), and I thought it would be cool to jazz them up a bit with a relish from Tom's Junk Food chapter.

124. DIY: Make your own sweetcorn relish - *Junk Food*

Tom writes that this relish makes a burger, more so than the dill sauce I had made earlier in this project. Well I didn't have any burgers, but taking some inspiration from the hot dog vendors around these parts, a relish sounded like a good topping for some sausages. I don't eat sausages, so this meal was for Rafa. (You'll see what I ate further down below.)

I really didn't know what to expect from this relish. Usually, relish is a pretty generic term for a kind of pungent topping. But, I wasn't sure if it would be spicy, vinegary, sour, salty, etc. See, even though this is a DIY recipe, implying that it is something one could purchase somewhere, I had never heard of nor seen sweetcorn relish. But then again, I'm not really a toppings kind of person. So, I was cooking blindly, and I also had no idea how Rafa would react to it.

On to the process: You first blanch some frozen (or fresh) corn in a lot of boiling salted water. That didn't take very long, and after draining the corn, I put it back in the pan. To this, you add sliced onions, some chilli (I used just a dash of chilli flakes), white wine vinegar, salt and sugar.

You let this boil on a high heat for about five minutes, and then you lower the heat and let it simmer for 20 minutes.

While this was going on, I got started on the thickening agent. It was basically just mustard powder, corn starch and water all mixed together.

After the relish had its simmering time, the mixture was added to thicken up the sauce. This boiled on a medium heat for another five minutes so that relish would get glossy and thick.

And that was it. It was then just a matter of putting it on the desired meat of choice.

I really thought it looked pretty. It was shimmering and sticky at the same time. I tasted a little bit of it, and it was sweet and had heat. Definitely a punch. As you could see, I put a lot on Rafa's sausages. And though he said it tasted nice, it overpowered the actual meat. Rafa said that he had a hard time actually tasting the meat. Hmmn, should have exercised the 'less is more' style of plating up. Well I could not really argue with that; I saw what he meant after tasting the relish again. So it was not a hit at the Ilana-Rafa household.

I don't think this recipe is a total waste, because it really is tasty, I am just not sure what it should accompany. I'm thinking maybe a simple chicken breast that has been sauteéd in olive oil and nothing else. That might actually be pretty good.

Well I promised to show you what I ate. I was quite proud of myself because had about four things cooking at once and was quite pleased that I was able to be in control. Here is Bill Granger's Spaghetti with Garlic and Spinach. I think it may be from his new book, but I got the recipe from the UK Delicious, November 2006.

It's a very basic and delicious recipe. All you do is boil up some spaghetti, or linguini, in my case, and in a separate pan fry some garlic slivers in olive oil and then add white wine. The pasta goes into the oily sauce with some baby spinach (yes, we can eat it again!), and then is topped with parmesan at serving. It was lovely and really flavorful even though not many flavors were added to the pasta. It was a bit on the oily side; but that's not a bad thing necessarily. With the heating in my apartment, it tends to get pretty dry, and this was great at moisturizing my lips. LOL.

Life in the fast lane!

2006-10-20T10:00:00.000-04:00

Ilana and Rafa are proud to announce a brand new addition to their family -- a Cool Blue Honda Accord!!! The bouncing new baby did not come into this world without complications; steep insurance rates, various trips to the non-borough, Staten Island.

And I've realized I've become the worst back seat driver!!! Why are drivers in New York completely maniacs??! I mean, do they want to really kill themselves and everyone else around them?? I'm not too sure if getting a car is good for my mental health. Now instead of being crazy, neurotic, paranoid Ilana, I am now crazy, neurotic, paranoid Ilana with a car. I hardly slept last night and this morning, even though I was horridly late to work already, I still found time to go out of my way to check on my new baby as it slept among the falling rain of early morning. She looked OK, but there was a fat van parked eerily close to her, just nearly touching her pristine license plate. Rafa and I are both anal-retentives -- oh, what fun are we! -- so I fear we're going to turn into those people that won't let others eat in our car, come in with wet boots, etc. Well only time will tell.

With this new car, I hope, will come new freedom, so if we feel like driving off to the 'country' for a weekend, we can. I hope we get to do that.. I don't want it to be one of those things where we say we will do it, but never do. Like in When Harry Met Sally, when Sally tells Harry how her and Joe always said they would fly off to Rome on a moment's notice or make love on the kitchen floor, but they never did.

Hey, now we'll be able to fly off to Ikea on a moment's notice. So watch out for the next installment of the Magical Culinary Tour: Ikea... hahaha.... no, I'm not kidding! :)

A woman can't live by one blog alone...

2006-10-16T20:27:00.000-04:00

I've done it again -- made risotto! Check it out here!

Gold in a Bowl

2006-10-14T17:05:00.000-04:00

Continuing on with my color-themed thread titles, I am indeed cooking by color as my lunch today was lovingly golden.

The luminscence of my dish comes from the gorgeous spices of India.

123. Spicy Potatoes and Cauliflower (Aloo Gobi) - *Indian*

I had some cauliflower leftover from the soup, so thought it was smart to use it up for this recipe. As with many Indian dishes, the spices were left to develop and then the rest of the ingredients were added.

So, I heated up some light olive oil and butter in a non-stick pan. Then, I added cumin (Tom says to add cumin seeds, but I didn't have any), garlic and ginger. I let these fry for a minute or so, and then I added garam masala, turmeric, salt and chilli flakes. For the heat, Tom recommends green chillies actually but I am a woose when it comes to spicy foods. Then some chopped waxy potatoes go in along with some chopped cauliflower. Finally, water is added along with tomato purée. This is left to simmer covered until the potatoes are tender, and the aloo gobi is finito!

I topped the aloo gobi with chopped parsley and waited for it to cool down a bit so I can dig in.

This is really lovely and with a nice spicy kick. Did wonders to my sinus infection! LOL! Tom says this could be eaten cold for a retro potato salad in the summer. I'm inclined to agree with him. This dish is fierce and would be welcome at any type of occasion.

BETA is bettah'!

2006-10-12T15:37:00.000-04:00

Hey fellow Bloggers! I switched over to Blogger Beta recently and just love how easy it is to customize the page and other little things. You will notice the Chapters and more... sidebar that I created. It has links to all the posts organized by CL's chapters, so if you're in the mood for soup tonight, for instance, you could link up to all the posts of the soups I have made in Cupboard Love. Anyway, lots of lovely features, and I'm recommending it not because Google needs any more money, they have enough already!, but only because it makes life easier for technophobes such as myself!! Enjoy!

Really yummy bread!

2006-10-12T11:54:00.000-04:00

I find that my search for the perfect bread can be equated to my search for the perfect pizza slice. I think it is because when bakeries get it right, they get it really right, and the same goes for pizzerias. The search also includes the home. When it comes to baking bread or making pizza, I want to better anything I could get outside. Ay, there's the rub. I live in a great city where it is easy to get a great slice of pizza or loaf of bread; and I bow down before these manufacturers of heavenly delights because I know, as hard as I try, I can't recreate the best. But I try...

Last night I was home. Feeling sick, I really was in the mood to bake a loaf of bread. I have never attempted the basic white bread loaf before, so I thought that'd be a good recipe to try. I used Tessa Kiros' White Milk Bread recipe from Apples for Jam. The bread was different from your typical loaf as it contained melted butter, honey, eggs, and milk. I love eggy bread -- my favorite at-home creation is challah, and I'll blow my own Shofar by saying it is darn tasty!

Well Tessa's bread did not disappoint!

The crust was crunchy, the insides were soft and warm. Perfect with some butter!! The only bad thing about baking bread is that it doesn't seem to keep for very long. I cut up two generous slices this morning and spread some lovely Finnish strawberry jam in between. I had this for my breakfast at work with some vanilla soy milk. YUM! I think I need to add this bread to the items I'll make as holiday gifts.

Nigella reads my blog....

2006-10-10T18:30:00.000-04:00

.... or not. But I found it funny how in the 2nd episode of Nigella Feasts, Nigella walks into Murray's cheese shop. For those that don't know, it is a mecca for cheese enthusiasts around the world as literally every type of cheese is there. I have to admit I have never been there -- cheese I like, but it doesn't do it for me. If it wasn't for my pizza addiction, I think I could happily live a cheese-less life. Plus, Murray's isn't exactly known for its mozzarella, which you could find everywhere!! Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, so Nigella walks into Murray's and instantly focuses on a huge chunk of gorgonzola.

You will remember my aversion to gorgonzola and how I said at the end of my blog that day that you wouldn't catch me dead at Murray's shop -- that I'd happier go to Magnolia Bakery, its Bleecker Street neighbor.

Here's Nigella holding that brown Norwegian cheese I can't ever hope to spell or pronounce properly. So I guess if I ever have the fortunate chance to bump into Nigella on the street here in NYC, it won't be outside of Murray's. LOL.

Speaking of which, talking of celeb sightings, yesterday I saw Dennis Leary. Why is it always that I see celebs I really don't care about in the slightest --- Isaac Mizrahi, Mila Kunis, Andrew McCartney!!! --- but I never see Chris Martin or Clive Owen or Ewan McGregor or Colin Firth or... mmmmm. Where are they hiding??

Marigold

2006-10-08T21:12:00.000-04:00

Sunday was all mine since Rafa was working at the hospital. I was getting better at having three meals throughout the day, and I wanted to include a nice and healthy soup for lunch.

122. Leek and Potato Soup (Cauliflower and Saffron variation) - *Soup*

The variation of the soup is very similar to the original apart from some key role changes. For instance, the part of the leeks was played by cauliflower, onions, dried mint and saffron.

All of these ingredients braised in a bit of milk until soft. It turned a gorgeous creamy yellow color right away.

Then, the potatoes were added with some water and left to boil until very soft. I checked for seasoning, and the soup was done.

I ate it while watching Nigella Lawson's second episode of Nigella Feasts. It was really good to chill out, watch quality entertainment on the Food Network for once, and have some nutritious soup.

The color of the soup was beautiful - yes, quite like marigold - and it evoked a lovely Middle Eastern flair, with the hint of saffron and mint. I have to admit, though, I do prefer the original version, but that is indeed a matter of taste. I liked the smoother texture that cauliflower can't really give.

I am really making headway in the Soup chapter! I think I only have two or three left to go... Who would have thought I liked soup so much! I really have to give it, though, to this chapter. So many recipes and not one that tastes anything like the other. Good job, Tom!

Picky Eaters Club: Month 6

2006-10-01T08:48:00.000-04:00

Well, it's been six months, so that marks the official end to this project.. see ya!

Haha, just kidding. Ok, Month 6, definitely better than Month 5, but still not up to scratch. This time, I made 7 recipes!! And here they are, in particular order. ;)

115. Penne with Gorgonzola and Walnuts - *Pasta*
116. Leek and Potato Soup - *Soup*
117. Halloumi, Rocket and Tomato 'Club' - *Toast*
118. Aubergine Tikka - *Indian*
119. Tomato, Bacon and Onion Sauce (Amatriciana) - *Pasta*
120. Chickpea, Bacon and Mushroom soup - *Soup*
121. Chickpea, Bacon and Mushroom soup (soup pasta variation) - *Soup*

This month I learned that I hate gorzonzola, but halloumi ain't too bad! As gorgeously as I disguise vegetarian food, Rafa will always prefer meat recipes -- and in that vein, chorizo makes a good subsitute for bacon! That's a tip for any of you that toss all night contemplating if it would.

Although I am about 80 recipes until the end of the book, the end of each chapter is drawing closer. In fact, I am only three or four recipes away from finishing the Pasta and Soup chapters! I think my goal for the next few months is to focus on the ethnic dishes of the Junk Food, Indian and Thai chapters. I feel I have neglected those recently.

Thanks to everyone still reading this blog. :)

I need a Toblerone I.V.!

2006-09-25T19:33:00.000-04:00

I woke up shattered this morning. My eyelids felt they were scotch-taped to my face, my head was hazy, I was not in good shape. I shoulda known better. I partied and binged all weekend, and now I was paying for it. In a 24 hr period, I had consumed an entire 20 oz. bottle of Pepsi, about 9 cupcakes, almost an entire bar of Jacques Torres' dreamy milk chocolate.... Whenever I do this to myself, which isn't that often, I usually feel awful afterwards. The amount of sugar and caffeine is too much to handle, and then I get up the next day looking for my next fix. On the train this morning, all I could think about was diving into a huge swimming pool of melted milk chocolate. I wanted it baaaaaaad!

But I needed to resist, because it is a slippery slope from here. Tonight, I needed something sinful after dinner. I had tons of temptation all around me.

1 bar of toblerone
the rest of the Jacques Torres' milk chocolate bar
the rest of the cupcakes (about three or four)
about five bars of Green and Blacks chocolate, in different sinful flavors

I decided to be strong and made a dessert in a class all by itself...

Caribbean Breeze

I layered all the non-naughty things I loved; greek yogurt, juicy nectarine slices, Honey Bunches of Oats cereal, dried cranberries and honey. It was marvelous, and no, there's nothing Caribbean about it, especially not the Honey Bunches of Oats, but it kind of gave me that feeling like I was on some island, coming back from the beach all sunkissed, wearing terry-cloth clothing and feeling all 'toyt' (Austin Powers reference); why is it on vacation that we feel so much skinnier than we really are. Must be something in the water. Anyway, this little creation was just spectacular. And I'm not missing my chocolate..... much.

**Shameless Self-Plug - Hey, check out what I had for dinner here.

So I saw about some meat...

2006-09-24T21:57:00.000-04:00

I figured we needed some variation and meat in our diet, and it gave me an opportunity to be inventive in the kitchen.

Pollo Casero con Pisto y Arroz

I first seared a couple of chicken breasts in some garlic olive oil. I put them to the side and added onions to the hot pan. Once the onions browned a bit, I added tinned plum tomatoes, a chopped small zucchini and salt. Once the sauce reduced a bit, I added the chicken pieces on top, and sauteéd them with the lid on.

I made some lovely saffron rice to go with it. It was delicious. I hadn't let on to Rafa that it was actually pisto that I made, because I wanted to see if he could recognize my efforts as the same dish he grew up with in Seville. He knew what I was all about, and he didn't give up that he was hot on my case until after he finished eating. He said the pisto tasted just like his mom's, and that is the best compliment a mama's boy could ever give! :) He got meat and a helping of some of mama's cooking.

The Vegetarian Soup in Disguise

2006-09-24T10:09:00.000-04:00

I could happily live a vegetarian life. Don't get me wrong, there are times when only a big hunk of meat will do. Usually it is during barbecue season when all I could envision is my brother-in-law's beautifully spiced filet mignon, so rare it's still quivering. But, for the most part, I find myself eating vegetarian dishes; there just seems to be more variety there.

Rafa wouldn't happily live a vegetarian life - in fact, he'd view it as a malnourished one. Of course I'm not surprised, he growing up in the country of meat. For Christmas, they would have a huge side of a pig in their chicken, ready for carving for impromptu jamón tapas. It looked strange to me when first seeing it there, hanging out next to the pantry and fridge. It didn't really kick in that it was an animal until I saw its hoof. Hmmmn.

So you could see we come from very different foodie ideals. I thought a sort of compromise was needed, but of course, since I'm the cook, it always tends to lean in my favor. Muahahahaha.

120. Chickpea, Bacon and Mushroom soup - *Soup*
121. Chickpea, Bacon and Mushroom soup (soup pasta variation) - *Soup*

Number 121 was for Rafa for dinner when he got home from work, and 120 is for me for my lunch today. It is basically the same recipe with some pasta added to one of the bowls once the soup was done.

So the soup -- so easy and a pleasure to make, because I just love the idea of making a stock and healthy soup from scratch.

First, I sweated some some onions, carrots and garlic in a little bit of olive oil and salt. This was the 'base' of the stock. Smelled fabulous at this point.

The meaty part of the original recipe involved first cooking some bacon and then adding the veggies to that oil, but the compromise was no bacon, because I was eating this soup too! :) I didn't let on that there was supposed to be bacon in the soup, but instead decided to bulk it up for Rafa so he hopefully wouldn't notice there was no meat.

While the vegetables were sweating, I soaked some porcini mushrooms in warm water. After a bit, I drained and sliced them and reserved the dark liquid. (My friend, Jean, in Scotland, was kind enough to send me a huge bag of porcinis, so my porcini liquid cup runneth over. Can't wait to make some more risotto too -- Thanks, Jean!)

Once the vegetables got soft, I added tomato pureé, a can of chickpeas with its juice, the sliced mushrooms, two bay leaves,
and enough of the porcini liquid to top the vegetables. This simmered for about a half an hour. And that was the first soup done!

For the second soup, Tom said I could boil up some ditalini or macaroni. I had both so decided to include the two. It was about 50g in total for a serving of soup.

And that was Rafa's hearty dinner for when he came back home from a long day at work. He liked it and would swill around the mushrooms because he thought they were beef slices. I let him on to the secret that there was not actually any meat there -- he said what harm would there be in a couple of cubes of meat. I think that's his way of telling me he needs some meat. I'll see what I can do....

Il Bastardo

2006-09-19T09:53:00.000-04:00

Last night I probably offended all of the Italians in the world by doing a complete bastardized version of a popular pasta dish. But, in true Cupboard Love fashion, I needed to use what I had, provided it wasn't too out of the box!

119. Tomato, Bacon and Onion Sauce (Amatriciana) - *Pasta*

In my Internet research post-dinner last night, I found that amatriciana sauce comes from the town of Amatrice in Italy; most of the time, it involves pancetta or bacon, tomatoes, and a punchy hit of a hot pepper. It is garnished with pecorino romano, and served on top bucatini, a thick strand of spaghetti that has the center hollowed out. Well turns out I wasn't the only one who bastardized this dish, as Tom uses this sauce for penne, ha!, and with parmesan and no pepper.

But, at any rate, I had to use what I had available. I don't like bacon, so I wanted to make this for Rafa, since he comes home late from work, and I figured it would be something nice to come home to. Our bacon in the fridge was not looking its best; I had to throw it away. I was looking around for something else that was kinda smoked and definitely in the pork-y realm. I found the chorizo. I knew Rafa wouldn't object to having a tomato sauce with loads of chorizo, but I wasn't sure how it would taste. I decided to give it a try.

So first I chopped up about 100 grams of chorizo. I added them to a hot pan with a little bit of olive oil, as the chorizo was quite oily already. Once the chorizo got crispy, I added a chopped onion and some sage leaves. I let this fry for a bit.

Then, I added a nice splash of red wine. I used pseudo-plonk, though, I have to admit. It was an old bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, hehehe. The sauce reduced a little bit, and then I added some squeezed out plum tomatoes (San Marzano, but of course) to the pan with a pinch of salt.

The penne was ready, and after draining it, I tossed it in some butter off the heat. I added the tomato sauce and some chopped parmesan. I kept the whole thing warm while Rafa was experiencing his idea of hell on Earth; the evening commute! He came home to a lovely warm bowl of pasta.

He really enjoyed the pasta. He loves chorizo, of course, but also appreciated the lovely smell of wine emanating from the bowl. Bless him. He can't detect plonk either!

While he was eating I came upon an epiphany. I could just cook the things he likes for those nights when he works late. My dinner is out of the way; and I have time to make his and I don't even have to eat it! Yippee! So I become a good and nurturing wife, and a successful blogger!

An article and three recipes...

2006-09-18T15:02:00.000-04:00

For the cupboard-hoarders; you know who you are!

September 17, 2006
Food - New York Times
The Way We Eat: The Cookout
By JENNIFER STEINHAUER

I know I had a very good reason for purchasing two pounds of lupini beans in the winter of 2005. But what was it?

I pulled out old cooking magazines, interrogated my husband and made a few desperate phone calls to Italy, where friends had no suggestions but did ask that I respect time-zone differences the next time I had a food inquiry.

But the beans had to go — as did the two cans of pumpkin, bags of lentils, a tin of wasabi powder, chicken stock, walnuts, pecans, garam masala, coconut milk and lots and lots of rice. I was moving from New York to California, and the entirety of my pantry could not come with me. So in between lunches with old friends, school picnics and crying jags precipitated by my inability to find the dry-cleaning receipt, I would boil, broil, baste and sauté these ingredients away.

Perhaps you are like Mrs. Virkus, the mother of my childhood friend Jill, who diligently recorded every family dinner, down to the last ground-beef “porcupine ball.” I’ll bet Mrs. Virkus always knew when she was out of paprika. Or perhaps your larder is more like mine, full of the detritus of good intentions, stemming from a combination of time-management issues, absent-mindedness and an inflated sense of your culinary skill and your family’s willingness to indulge you.

All cooks have things in the pantry they cannot live without. My list: dried pasta, sea salt, cocoa powder, curry and plenty of baking powder. Then there are those things we seem to get left with: cans of pumpkin (holiday baking), mustard seeds (for pickling) and five bags of lentils and rice, an inch in each bag.

In a subcategory of leftovers are those ingredients you buy for one recipe — like that wasabi — use a teaspoon of and then curse each time they clonk you on the head as you reach for a can of tomato paste. You don’t toss them, because you like to think of yourself as the sort of person who really ought to be cooking regularly with wasabi paste.

Then there are the vacation ingredients, meant to recapture a beloved meal made elsewhere, which, of course, is rarely successful. Old Bay seasoning, so enjoyed on those crabs I pummeled during a summer vacation in Delaware, has no rightful place in a New York pantry in December. Finally, there is the ingredient abuse of which I am most ashamed: comestible posing. You know the drill: you flip through a new cookbook or the latest issue of this magazine and say to yourself, “Hey, yes, I will make bobotie tonight.” You go to three different stores, ferret out each exotic ingredient, come home, pull out a few pans and order pizza. No judgment!

So, left with these categories of goods, I flipped through cookbooks, scanned recipe sites and bothered one friend relentlessly for ideas on how to cook down my pantry without having to buy more ingredients. A new favorite emerged, Goan coconut-milk pilaf, from the lovely cookbook “1,000 Indian Recipes,” by Neelam Batra, which had two important elements: speed and lots of ingredients. My supply of basmati rice, married with several spices and an onion, suddenly formed a fragrant side dish. The garam masala and that coconut milk gave it some zip. I had no cardamom pods, and had no intention of buying them, but the dried stuff was fine.

On to the lentils. My expectations were low when I took on a soup with pounded walnuts and cream, because the recipe called for only 10 ingredients, including water (though I chose to use chicken stock, and you should, too). I used the brown lentils I purchased in bulk months ago at an Indian grocery store but I am positive I would have thrown in a cup each of all the lentils in my pantry. The soup was simple and flavorful on its own, but when mixed with the mashed paste of my leftover walnuts and some crème fraîche (a process that takes less than five minutes), it was divine.

Lentils? Cooked. Wasabi powder? Coming with me. Pumpkin? To be fair, the failure of a panna cotta adapted from the book “Italian Two Easy” (my idea was to add the pumpkin) was largely my fault, as I did not properly calculate the gelatin-to-pumpkin-and-milk ratios. But the authors didn’t help any by suggesting that I remove the gelatin from the milk after soaking it, which is a little like suggesting you strain the sugar from your morning coffee after adding it. One panna cotta slid obediently from its ramekin, doing a little dessert shimmy on the plate. The other formed a gloppy puddle. But when rejiggered and prepared as it is here, it’s a fabulous alternative to the standard pumpkin pie. Sometimes leftover ingredients and ambition alone do not do the trick.

And that big bag of lupini beans? Pie weights. This Thanksgiving in Los Angeles.

Goan Coconut-Milk Pilaf
2 tablespoons grated fresh coconut or shredded unsweetened dried coconut
1 to 2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 1-inch stick cinnamon
5 whole cloves
6 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed (or 1 heaping teaspoon ground cardamom)
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 ½ cups basmati rice, sorted and washed
1 cup coconut milk
1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1 teaspoon Goan vindaloo powder or garam masala
2 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped.

1. Dry-roast the coconut in a small skillet over medium heat until fragrant, but just barely darker in color, 1 to 2 minutes. Cool and set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the cinnamon, cloves and cardamom pods and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the onion (and ground cardamom, if using) and cook until golden, about 5 minutes. Mix in rice, coconut milk, 1 ¾ cups water and salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover the pan and cook until all the water has been absorbed and the rice is tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let rest for about 5 minutes. Transfer to a serving dish, mix in the coconut, vindaloo powder (or garam masala) and cilantro. Serves 6.

Adapted from “1,000 Indian Recipes,” by Neelam Batra.

Lentil Soup With Pounded Walnuts and Cream

2 cups lentils
2 to 4 tablespoons butter
1 onion, finely diced
1 bay leaf
6 cups vegetable or chicken stock (or water)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 large garlic cloves
2/3 cup lightly toasted walnuts
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons crème fraîche
2 tablespoons minced parsley, optional.

1. Soak the lentils in water for 2 hours, then drain.
2. Melt the butter in a large pot over low heat. Add the onion and bay leaf. Sauté over medium-high heat until onion is translucent, 5 minutes. Add lentils, stock and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat. Simmer, covered, until lentils are soft, about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Using a mortar and pestle, pound the garlic with a large pinch of salt. Add the walnuts and work until finely ground. Add 2 tablespoons crème fraîche, mixing it in a teaspoon at a time, to form a paste.
4. Add the remaining ½ cup crème fraîche to the finished soup. To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and top each with a large spoonful of walnut cream, a bit of ground pepper and, if desired, a sprinkle of parsley. Serves 4 to 6.

Adapted from “Vegetable Soups,” by Deborah Madison.

Pumpkin Panna Cotta
1 ½ tablespoons unflavored powdered gelatin (about 2 2 ½ -ounce packets)
2 ½ cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
2/3 cup sugar
Pinch salt
1 15-ounce can pumpkin purée
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg.

1. In a bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over 1 cup milk and let sit for 10 minutes.
2. In a medium saucepan, heat the remaining milk, cream, sugar and salt to just before boiling. Whisk the gelatin mixture, pumpkin, cinnamon and nutmeg into the warmed cream. Remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes, then strain through a sieve lined with cheesecloth. Do not press on the solids. Pour into 5 ¾ -cup ramekins and chill for at least 3 hours.
3. To serve, dip the base of a ramekin in hot water until the panna cotta is loose. Lay a plate on top and invert it. You may need to shake the ramekin to release the panna cotta. Serves 5.

Brilliant! Brilliant!

2006-09-16T09:13:00.000-04:00

My friend, Clarice, is visiting in NYC for a short while. She brought me a fantastic gift. Oh, how did she know??!! LOL.

This wonderful book covers the history of rice and risotto, and then gives a multitude of recipes for my favorite thing on this Earth!! ... it even has recipes for making different kinds of stock! I'm so excited, especially because I started another blog a little while ago that I haven't had a chance to contribute to yet because I wanted to give CL its deserved respect!!! But watch this space, or rather that space for my fabulous adventures in risotti-eating, risotti-making, and other culinary adventures too, because even I could never eat risotto every day. :)) It won't turn into a risotto-ized version of Supersize Me, LOL.

Says he: "I prefer the chicken"

2006-09-13T19:16:00.000-04:00

I'm continuing on my cooking marathon and going back to the Indian chapter, which I haven't visited in a long time.

118. Aubergine Tikka - *Indian*

Last time I made tikka, it was a chicken tikka. At that time, I paired it with Tom's masala sauce. I remember how lovely it tasted, so I thought it'd be a good idea to pair the veggie version with the sauce as well.

I have to say at this point that Rafa was not too enthusiastic about eating a veggie curry. He has been craving curry, and so have I, but his cravings for anything usually include some sort of meat. He finally gave in, so I made this dish for two.

First, you 'marinate' the vegetables. The marinade is basically lemon juice, minced garlic and ginger, salt, cumin, coriander, light olive oil and smoked paprika. The veggies (aubergine, red pepper and red onion) are chopped and tossed in the marinade. Then, they are roasted for 40 minutes in a moderate oven.

I made the masala sauce and rice while the veggies were roasting. I didn't make any changes to the sauce, but did use red onions instead of white, to mirror the onions in the roast.

Once the vegetables were fully roasted...

I added them to the gorgeous and silky sauce. I then scooped them on top the rice and served dinner.

This was delicious!! Many of you know I don't like roasted vegetables, especially peppers, but they were nice and soft, and besides, this masala sauce is killer! I am thinking of making a couple of batches and bottling it for when Rafa is home alone, and he could make chicken tikka masala.

Speaking of which, I asked for Rafa's opinion of the veggie tikka masala.

Me: So, was your veggie tikka masala so bad?
He: I prefer the chicken.
Me: I know, but was it so bad?
He: It was OK, but I prefer the chicken.

Oh well, I tried. LOL.

The 'Opa' Sandwich

2006-09-13T08:43:00.000-04:00

With all the lovely goodies I got in Astoria, I wanted to commemorate my trip there with a lovely meal.
I had halloumi! Which means, I could make the halloumi sandwich in CL!

117. Halloumi, Rocket and Tomato 'Club' - *Toast*

This is the only vegetarian club sandwich in CL, and not having any bacon in it, it was A-OK with me. I put the sandwich together quickly and satisfied my hungry belly.

First, I made a sort of dressing - lemon juice, smoked paprika, and olive oil.

I tossed this with some salad leaves. The sandwich is supposed to have only rocket, but I didn't have that, so used a mixture, though, rocket (arugula) was in there! I also sliced a tomato very thinly.

I sliced some halloumi too...

and assembled the sandwich. I used the 'greek' bread, as it was just calling me the whole subway ride home.

This was delicious! YUM! Soooo good! I love halloumi! It is salty and has a different texture, but it was really good. I loved it in this sandwich. I even made one for my lunch today. Mmmm, can't wait.

Magical Culinary Tour: Astoria

2006-09-12T21:47:00.000-04:00

Here we go again, on another trip to an exotic destination. This time, it's Astoria, Queens. :))

Let's face it, these trips are just as much for me as they are for you. I have lived in New York since I was six years old, but have not even scratched the surface when it comes to seeing all that New York has to offer. Astoria is no different. It is known for its Greek neighborhoods, and of course, its Greek food.

I was in search of one thing: halloumi! Halloumi is not impossible to find in Manhattan, but all the small blocks I have seen have been around the $7 mark. It's almost an insult to this New Yorker to go with the first price I see and not search for something better. And after shelling out close to $7 for the crapgonzola the other day, I cannot spend so much on cheese I am not entirely sure I would even like. Halloumi is described as squeaky, salty, styrofoamy... Mmmm, ok. Well it's just cheese for pete's sake; so why am I getting panic attacks about it??? Speaking of cheese, I am really happy I'm not a cheese-o-phile. I do love my parmesan (and I'm not talking poorman'sgrana) but I could see if I was obsessed with it how it would become a very expensive thang to be hung up on.

So back to the tour. I had do some recon before heading out. Ah, the wonders of a T1 connection at work ('bout time!) and free paper and printer ink at my disposal.

Plus, all photojournalists, such as myself (wink, wink) have a trusty MTA map on their office walls as well.

We don't want to get lost in the land of souvlaki and tzatziki. Opa! (By the way, Russians say that too!)

Back to the matter at hand, shortly after finishing up work I headed north and then east to Astoria. According to my 'Astoria File', Steinway Street was supposed to be a good starting point as it is known as "The World's Longest Department Store". I wouldn't say it was a department store, as such, it just seemed to be a long, very long, stretch with horrible Eurotrashy boutiques, blech. I went to Astoria to do some Greek-spotting, but wasn't seeing any. I finally turned on 30th Avenue and things started changing. There were some hip restaurants on the corners, and greek grocery stores cropped up here and there.

My first stop was Elliniki Gona ("Greek Corner"). What bullcrap. It was just a typical grocery store, and the only thing 'Greek' about it were the packages of feta that were found in the refrigerated section -- packages of feta, mind you, that anyone can find in any grocery store here.

I didn't let that distract me from my goal: cheap halloumi! Then I happened to see Cyprus Deli. Well, halloumi is from Cyprus, score! The store was cute and did offer halloumi at the cheapest I have seen. A package roughly double of what I have seen in Manhattan only cost me $5.19. The price for a pound was $7.99. Excellent, so I bought it, of course. I even managed a pic of the store, though I looked like a complete weirdo for taking a picture of cheese! Ah, all for my readers.

Then, I stopped off at a bigger store, Mediterranean Foods, with a huge deli counter. There, the halloumi was $5.99 a pound! What??!! Well I'm not all for returning cheese, so I lowered my head and declared myself un-victorious. Next time, next time. But here are some pics, and I got some fab kalamata olives and Greek yogurt. Though, of course, in Astoria, they just call it yogurt. ;)

Mediterranean Foods had Greek flags everywhere and was chock-full of products imported from the Motherland. I was really impressed; this must be a Greek New Yorker's idea of heaven.

Now that I had my halloumi plus other things, I decided to walk around and in and out of shops to see what else Greek Astoria had to offer. I went into a bakery...

... and had an interesting conversation with the young woman who worked there.

Me: Do you have Greek bread?

She: (Showing me a rustic-looking loaf of white bread) Here is a loaf of white bread.

Me: OK, but do you have Greek bread, maybe something smaller.

She: Well this is smaller, it's just white bread.

Me: Erm, ok, but is it Greek?

She: It's white bread.

LOL. Well I guess we've removed any doubts at all that it was white bread. I bought the yummy looking loaf, still not knowing if it is Greek. Hmmmn, no matter.

I set my sights on walkng a bit further to the supposed Greek superstore, Titan. I passed a window with a wide selection of olive oil on the way... (Man, these Greeks really love their flags, don't they?)

and a couple of more places where the names of the stores made me chuckle.

I shortly reached the mecca of all things Greek, Titan!

Not many things take my breath away. But walking into Titan, I was impressed!

I think it had to do with the entire fridge of Greek yogurt. You don't know what a big deal that is to me. And it's the cheapest I have ever seen it, I think, but I need to consult with my sources on that.

There were huge deli counters and endless vats of olives. A fabulous bakery, where I got my bro-in-law his favorite kourampiedes. They are powdered little cookies. That's the best way I could describe them.

The whole time I was at Titan I kept thinking how I wish I had a shopping list so I could really make the most of my trip there. I was completely unprepared!! I need to go back, just so that I could stock up on yogurt and olives.

So, all in all, the trip up there was definitely worth it. I got lots of goodies (pic to come), and even found a cute Italian deli where La Bella San Marzano tomatoes were to be found at the cheapest I have seen, just $1 a can. Astoria is a foodie's dream, not to mention the chic restaurant scene. Yes, yes I must go back!

When I got back home, I made good use of some of the stuff I bought... Coming soon!

Look up 'slacker' in the dictionary....

2006-09-12T11:38:00.000-04:00

... and my smiling face is there!

I work for a textbook publisher. We publish the same books I used when I went to high school. Today, the Science Director asked me to send some sample books to one of our authors, a Chemistry teacher. I had written back to said Science Director that Mr. Author was actually my Chemistry teacher. We had a good cyber-chuckle over it, and I had remembered how Mr. Author and another Chemistry teacher of mine were so cross at me senior year; I had prepared and prepared, I mean came to school on Saturdays!!!, for the Advanced Placement Chemistry test. I was a fab student; kicked Chemistry's ass. There was no formula or chemical equation I couldn't figure out. When it came time for the morning of the exam, I just didn't show up. I, instead, went to Algebra class, and in true Ilana fashion, pretended like I had nowhere else to be that morning. Mr. Author and other teacher looked for me all over school and finally found me innocently doing some Algebra problems in class. They took me out of class and begged me, I think I even saw tears, to please follow them so I could take the AP exam. I flatly refused. I was scared, I told them. They said I could get a '3' (the passing grade) in my sleep. But that wasn't good enough for me; if I didn't get a 5, I didn't even want to bother.

I was thinking about all of this now at work and it has dawned on me, like it has time and time again, that I haven't changed one bit. I am a slacker. But more than that, my slacker tendencies have a root. I'm intimidated, scared of something, and instead of facing problems head-on I just go on with the rest of my life like nothing's wrong. I have been at this job for 3 1/2 years. I told myself I'd quit after 1 1/2 years. Well, obviously, I'm stilll here. I told myself I'd quit any second but it's just that uncertainty. I'd love to portray this persona of a tough-as-nails New Yorker, but that just ain't me. When the going gets tough, Ilana hides under her desk and hopes no one will find her. Eeek, too much info. All I'm trying to say is I'm trying to improve my life, and while doing so, I don't know how much cooking and creating I can accomplish, but I am trying, honest. Having a blog doesn't give you the luxury of disappearing from the face of the Earth, which I tend to do very well.

The Virtuous Soup

2006-09-10T19:31:00.000-04:00

Although we were a bit cool here in NYC for a little while, the mercury was rising for a little bit and it's still not what you'd call soup weather! However, in my haste to get back into soup making, I had bought a couple of leeks over a week ago. The weather was just not cold enough to make soup but the leek was soon to go over into the 'other' world. To salvage it, I decided to make soup anyway, and a virtous one at that!

116. Leek and Potato Soup - *Soup*

Leek and potatoes seem to be a usual combination. Unsurprisingly, this combo was unknown to me but I don't have a problem with either so I figured this soup would be Ilana-friendly. I am still feeling a bit bruised after my gorgonzola debacle.

This soup is of the 'bulked up' variety that really is a meal in itself. That was good news for me since I was on my own and watching the final of the U.S. Open. I needed to keep my eye on every grunt and ace, so it was also great that this soup was not too labor-intensive.

First, I peeled and sliced a leek. I did the same with a garlic clove...

... and added them to a pan with a bit of 2% milk. When the leek and garlic became soft...

... I added salt, water, and a chopped potato. I let this simmer until the potato was very tender, and then I added a bit more milk and water and some rosemary (I didn't have tarragon, but that's OK because I don't like its licorice-ey taste). The soup was then done. I had it with some focaccia I made the other night that I had frozen for just this type of occasion.

I at first wasn't too sure how I would feel about a milky soup, but it was actually really nice and creamy and full of flavor. However, even though I successfully halved the recipe, I discovered that the soup was a bit too salty for my taste. I was thinking of how to improve the soup next time around with just about half the amount of salt, and then I realized I had actually forgotten to halve the amount of salt in the first place! Durr! So Tom's measurement of one teaspoon for 4-6 servings is spot on! I am sorry I doubted you, Master Tom!

I could really imagine eating this soup on cold winter nights. It is quick, easy, and most importantly, scrummy!

Rafa is due back from work in a little bit, and I have his portion on the hob. Since a lot of liquid is lost, I added more milk and water to his serving. Hopefully the salt component has gone down a bit! :)

Update: Rafa loved this soup! He was quite enthusiastic about it and actually asked if there was more! Capital! Well I guess I'll be making this soon. Next time I will watch the salt anyway and add more milk and water to give more soup. YUM!

Feel Bad Bleu

2006-09-05T19:16:00.000-04:00

Pasta is comfort food - that's a given. In his Pasta chapter, Tom points out that one of the dishes just speaks a wet November. Well, we're in September, but are we wet!! Still pissing down here; hate this weather, just hate it.

Of course, that all changes when it comes to comfort food. Although the pasta includes a cheese I am not too sure I like too much, I decided to bite the bullet and get some of the cheese at the posh, fancy Manhattan grocery store after work. I was hoping that the dish would get me out of my cold-weather blues by introducing me to its own bleu.

115. Penne with Gorgonzola and Walnuts - *Pasta*

Gorgonzola, the final frontier. These are the eating adventures of the blogster Ilana. Her continuing mission: to explore strange new cheeses, to seek out new ingredients and new dishes, to boldly eat what most people have eaten before.

I chose the 'dolce' variety of gorgonzola because I wanted to take it a bit easy on myself. I have only really had gorgonzola in blue cheese dressing and on top of some salad a little while ago. It didn't appeal, but wasn't too bad, and it's not because it had blue veins, it was just, well, stinky. But I thought in a pasta and in a sauce it would mellow a bit.

The recipe couldn't be any easier. You first roast some walnuts in a moderate oven for about 10 minutes. Then, you boil up some penne, while you get on with the sauce. First, heat some heavy cream in a pan and add the walnuts and a few sage leaves.
Once it has simmered for about 3 minutes, you take the pan off the heat and add the gorgonzola, which has been cut into little cubes. The cheese is quite soft so melts in quite quickly, even though it is not on the heat.

Some butter is tossed through the cooked penne, and then the gorgonzola sauce is added. That's it.

Ok, the truth. I really didn't like it. :( Ok, even more truthful, I took three bites and threw out the entire thing. Waaaah. I don't even know why I feel so bad about it, but it's the same feeling I get when I admit that I hate wine.

See, I must have been asleep when everybody else around me learned to be cultural. All I know is after high school no one was drinking wine, and all of a sudden, in college, people would be having dinner parties and the thing to bring was wine. Everybody was drinking; I felt like the oddball, like what did they know that I didn't know. My disdain with most things people seem to like doesn't seem to be only in the alcohol realm. Tuna fish, smelly cheeses, dark chocolate, figs, etc. I just don't get it. Give me a chocolate cupcake over a chocolate mousse any day! Maybe I am the Petite Unsophisticate, but I really don't care anymore. I know what I like, and what I don't like. I don't like blue cheese, I DON'T LIKE BLUE CHEESE! LOL. But the one thing this blog has made me do is to at least try new things. At least I know for a fact that I don't like them.

So take your Murray's Cheese Shop and shove it. I'll meet you at the Magnolia Bakery instead. :)

Picky Eaters Club: Month 5

2006-09-01T11:43:00.000-04:00

This is Tom N-D:

'Anyone, anyone???'

This is me:

'Huh?'

So I've made FIVE recipes in August. Count 'em - one two three four five! Woohoo! I really should slow down or I may have nothing to cook in September, my last month of the project!!

Ok well obviously I won't finish the project on time, surprise suprise. So, I have decided to free myself mentally and otherwise and not have a deadline. That's right, no deadline. I will finish CL when I finish it. But I don't intend to drag it out at all, so keep reading. I will be cooking, I promise.

So let's look on the bright side; I have cooked 114 recipes out of a single book! I don't think I have ever cooked that much out of one book, so good for you, Ilana. I made some lovely dishes in August. Here's a summary:

110. Bacon Omelette - *Toast*

111. Pasta with Pesto - *Pasta*

112. Spaghetti with Ricotta and Herbs (variation) - *Pasta*

113. Mackerel and Ginger (but with salmon) - Stir Fries

114. Potato, cabbage and chorizo soup - *Soup*

Now that the weather is getting cooler, I can imagine cooking lots more soups and curries and stir-fries. I really do hope I get back on-track because I fear I'm not being a very good Tom N-D representative. Considering that out of 114 recipes I've loved about 50-75% of them, I think that is a good indication of a great cookbook. My inability to make my target date is not so much an un-love of Tom and cupboarding, but more an un-love with scheduling and plans. Gives a whole new meaning to the lazy days of summer! :)

Forever Autumn

2006-08-29T19:10:00.000-04:00

A bunch of people at Nigella.com joked a little while back how summer is completely overrated, and they preferred the coolness of autumn or even the cold that winter brings -- though I doubt that some of them have experienced New York blizzards! LOL. They even said that Nigella's next book should be called Forever Autumn. Though I don't really like cool weather, detest rain, there is just something so wonderful about the first cool days after a sweltering summer. Today was grey all day. The rain outside was more like a mist - almost made you feel like you were walking through a sprinkler. You smell autumn in the air. The salad days are far behind and all people could think about is hot chocolate, warm duvets, popcorn, tea with milk and honey.

With the ricotta I had left over from Tom's spaghetti recipe, I felt like I had to make something before it went to waste. I thought perhaps Nigella's baked pasta shells with ricotta and spinach, but I couldn't find jumbo shells after work. Then I looked up 'ricotta' in the index to Apples for Jam and thus I started on my journey of lovely autumn cooking.

The only entry under 'ricotta' is Ricotta Gnocchi. I love gnocchi, but I was a bit dubious about making it myself, and most importantly, if it would be any good or not. I looked at the ingredients and figured that if it was a waste, I wouldn't have ruined loads of expensive ingredients.

Well, it was ridiculously easy! Tessa says to serve it with tomato pesto, but I didn't really feel like blitzing so took my time in making a lovely and aromatic tomato sauce. Have a look yourself!

(click on the pic to see the lovely texture of the gnocchi! Trust me!)

And here's the recipe I came up with, if you're interested. Tessa's recipe, of course, was not adapted in any way. When I made it for myself, I quartered the recipe to make one serving, but I am including the ingredients for two servings.

Giacomo's Ricotta Gnocchi with Homemade Rosemary Tomato Sauce -- serves 2

Homemade Rosemary Tomato Sauce

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
leaves from 1 sprig of rosemary
1 small onion, chopped finely
about 1 cup passata (sieved tomatoes)
about 1/4 cup water
sea salt to taste

In a small pan, warm extra virgin olive oil. Add the garlic and rosemary. Let the flavor of the oil develop on a gentle heat for about five minutes. Add the onion to the pan with some sea salt. Put the lid on and let the onions sweat for five minutes. Then, add the passata and water. Add a bit more sea salt and bring to a boil. Then simmer covered on a very low heat for ten minutes. Keep warm while you get on with the gnocchi.

Ricotta Gnocchi: (from Apples for Jam)

250g (9 oz.) good-quality ricotta cheese
1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese
50g (1 3/4 oz.) plain (all-purpose) flour
1 quantity Homemade Rosemary Tomato Sauce (above)
Parmesan shavings to serve
Handful pine nuts

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Mix together the ricotta, parmesan, flour and a pinch of salt in a large bowl. With lightly floured hands, roll out the dough into thin sausages (about 1.5 cm/ 5/8 inch thick). Try to avoid adding extra flour or your gnocchi will be tough. Cut with a sharp knife into little dumplings and about 2 cm (3/4 inch) long.

Drop the gnocchi into the boiling water and cook for about 45 seconds until they float to the surface. As they bob up, lift them out with a slotted spoon and put them into warmed serving bowls. Drizzle on sauce and then pine nuts and a few parmesan shavings.

** I was so excited about sharing these recipes that I forgot to mention how delicious this was! Sooo delicious! I thought the gnocchi would be bland bland bland, but they weren't! Not in the slightest; they were light and fantastic! I think Tessa says they are something like fluffy pillows - what an accurate description. And not to toot my own horn, but TOOT TOOT! My sauce was fab! Mmmmmm.

I've run out of clever post titles! (But can think of some naughty ones!)

2006-08-27T16:39:00.000-04:00

Sunday was a complete washout. It seemed to rain from morning to night; and the summer seems to be waning here as it was the first time in months that I had to put on a sweatshirt to go out. I looked on the bright side and knew that now was the time I could make the recipes I was saving for cooler weather. I did some baking and cooking out of Apples for Jam, but also wanted to make a warming soup for lunchtime.

114. Potato, cabbage and chorizo soup - *Soup*

This particular soup caught my eye because it just looked like it would be really good. My mouth would salivate at the thought of frying up onions and chorizo. As mentioned in previous times, I am not really a hot dog/sausage person at all. Chorizo is just about the only thing that doesn't make me gag - and thank goodness for that, because we have located some fabulous chorizo here in New York; chorizo that even my Spanish hubby happens to love.

The soup is very simple and works on building layers of flavor. First, you fry thin chorizo slices in a dry pan so that they release their fat and oil. Once they are crispy, you set them aside.

You use the oil from the chorizo to gently sweat some onions and garlic. This is about the time that the apartment started to smell HEAVENLY! Sorry for the CAPS, but oh my, did it smell good!

Then you add some chopped peeled potatoes (floury ones, not waxy ones!) and a mugful of water. This is brought to a boil and then left to simmer for about 20 minutes.

Then, finally, you add some chopped savoy cabbage leaves...

and the fried chorizo. You add more water and boil the soup until the greens are tender. We were a bit hungry at this point, so I have to admit to rushing things a bit. I served up the soup when the greens were just tender. Al dente would be a nicer way to describe them, LOL.

The soup was delicious but I guess not as good as it could have been. I blame the fact that I added too much water, as I don't really like thick soups, and the fact that I didn't leave the greens long enough to be really tender. However, the broth and potatoes and chorizo were really good.

I imagine this soup is the type that you slowly cook for a bit longer, and it really makes the flavor develop.

A lazy Sunday like yesterday was the perfect environment for that type of cooking, but we just happened to be really hungry! LOL.

Holy Mackerel!

2006-08-25T19:35:00.000-04:00

Improvisation is key to innovation in the kitchen. Considering how picky I am, and how I would have to improvise in the kitchen if I didn't want to go hungry, then I must be getting to be a great innovator!

In the Stir Fries chapter, Tom includes a recipe for Mackerel and Ginger as a perfect accompaniment to stir-fries. Not being a fishy person at all, I couldn't face eating a non-familiar fish and a whole one at that! I instead focused on a fish I didn't have too much of a problem with -- salmon.

113. Mackerel and Ginger (but with salmon) - Stir Fries

Since I wasn't cooking a whole fish, I had to work around it but still give the salmon the same essence the mackerel would have.

I decided to combine all the ingredients for the fish in a paste first, rather than drizzling it over. The sauce consisted of minced garlic and ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, lemon juice and chilli flakes.

I cooked the salmon a la Tom's grilled fish instructions, using the 'hot pan/hot oven' method. Before I put the salmon in the oven, I pasted the sauce on it. I baked it in the hot oven for just a few minutes, and it was done! Nigella helped out with dinner too; I made her lovely Lemon Rice from Forever Summer. Apart from lemon juice and zest, the rice is wonderfully flavored with turmeric and dried mint.

The two together were really lovely. Salmon is usually bland, but the sauce flavored it beautifully. As good as it was, I don't think salmon is my thing. I just can't get excited about it. But for salmon fans, or fish fans, the sauce for the fish is really punchy and yummy. You should definitely give it a go.

Rafa liked the meal too... I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that he was starving, plus he was in a particulary good mood because his soccer (whoops, football!, sorry!) team won the Super Cup or something ridiculous like that. Sorry, had to add that part into my blog, otherwise he wouldn't talk to me.

Now we have a lovely weekend to enjoy.

It's not easy being Pluto!

2006-08-24T18:53:00.000-04:00

We all sometimes feel the we're not really in the club! We all have our off days - those days where nothing seems right. I've had those off days for a long long time now, and I have no idea why. I hardly cook. The only thing that comforts me is the risotto I make now with practically my eyes closed. I am a full-fledged member of the Risotto Club, if there really was one actually. Well as bad as my day could be, at least I could say I don't have it bad as Pluto.

Pluto just got booted out of the planet club - that's right, Pluto is not a planet anymore. Hmmmn. Well some days I may not feel like human, but I bleed and I get headaches and get into arguments with my spouse, so yes, I am a human. Well all I could say is, at least I'm not Pluto. Poor Pluto , I need to send him/her a bowl of risotto. I've made history today too; I made it in 15 minutes! That has to be like a risotto-making record!

Ta Dum! (The Return of The Procrastinator)

2006-08-22T19:55:00.000-04:00

With my friends now gone and no real reason not to be home, the procrastination has to come to an end -- NOW!

I flicked through Cupboard Love to get an idea of what I will be cooking... it's still pretty hot here so many things did not appeal, like the whole Soup chapter.

I had remembered a pasta dish I quite liked when I was cooking at Lisa's in Florida, so I made a variation of the recipe.

112. Spaghetti with Ricotta and Herbs (variation) - *Pasta*

There are a few suggestions for variations that Tom gives -- asparagus, broccoli, peas, broad beans, arugula, or my choice, baby spinach.

Spinach and ricotta go hand in hand in lasagna or pasta with shells, so I thought, why not?

As before, the preparation was very simple. While the pasta was boiling, I took out a few tablespoons of pasta water and mixed it with ricotta so that the cheese melted to make a sort of creamy sauce. I added pecorino this time, to ensure the sauce would be salty enough, plus some chilli flakes, as I wasn't catering to kiddies this time. I also chose oregano for this time, because basil around my parts never looks very pretty. With a tablespoon each of lemon juice and olive oil, the sauce was done.
I tossed it through the pasta with the chopped spinach, and the preparation was done!

This was really tasty! I think, though, that I should continue catering to kiddies' tastes as it was a taaaad too spicy for me, and this is after quartering the chilli flakes amount. Man, Tom, you like things spicy - wow! You know I was never a big fan of ricotta -- I always found it bland and bla. But this recipe really showcases it. I just love spaghetti, mmm.

But enough about me... (A week in pictures and food!)

2006-08-20T00:56:00.000-04:00

I love cute little turtles now -- my most recent purchase is a T-shirt with a very cute turtle on it. It says on top, 'Shut the Shell Up'. I wore it to work on Friday. You shoulda seen my boss' face. LOL.

Since I had to work the entirety of the last few days that Lorena and Isaac were here, I only got a chance to join them for the evenings.

Day 5

We we went to one of my favorite haunts, Dojo. There are two in NYC; by Washington Square Park and in St. Mark's Place. I just love Dojo. It is good, it is cheap (!!!), there is always a lively crowd because it seems to cater to college students' appetites and budgets!

The menu is a mix between American, Japanese and Mediterranean. And sometimes there's fusion. For instance, Lorena got a burger, in a pita, with a salad that had sprouts and that had Dojo's signature carrot-tahini dressing. The dressing is similar to the ones in Japanese restaurants - you know the ones that come with the basic lettuce salads and you always say 'on the side' but you end up drowning your leaves in it. Yes, that dressing! Mmmm.

I decided to go all veggie and had an ALT - avocado lettuce tomato. Mine was in a CHALLAH! roll. Yum yummy. The only annoying thing about the sandwiches section of the menu, as opposed to the burgers section, is that you don't really get a side salad or french fries, so of course I had all of Rafa's! YUM! In case you haven't caught on, New York visitors, Dojo - highly recommended!

Oh and forgot to mention, before Dojo, the gang, sans me, had hot dogs. You can't come to New York and not have one of these beauties.

The funny thing about hot dogs is that I absolutely love the idea of them, the smell of them, the thought of all those fixins on top - but when I eat them, I just feel so awful afterwards. And not just vendor hot dogs, all hot dogs! Those stupid times when I convince myself I will not get sick from them, about halfway through I get a mental image of how they are prepared and just get totally grossed out; I can't even finish them. Is it a mind over matter thing? Hmmn. Well if I ever figure out this conundrum, I think I should tackle the burger.

Day 6

Day 6 did not comprise of a lot of eating, at least not on my part. The gang had gone to lunch at Olive Garden, in Times Square, and were still at it when I was done at work. They utilized the 'endless breadsticks and salads' policy to its fullest extent. By the time I had arrived at the restaurant, they were on their fourth salad!

Now that's what I love about Olive Garden. Apart from the fact that yes, endless breadsticks and salad means endless breadsticks and salad, the food is really good! I may get a lot of rolling eyes at that comment but let's get real. What do you really want from an eating experience? Good food and good service, right? Well who bloody cares that it's a chain restaurant and all tourists flock to it. I always have had delicious food and impeccable service at Olive Garden. Maybe my tastes are not as refined as others, but I know what I like, and Olive Garden has got it for me. I always get the portabello mushroom ravioli - yum! Recently, I tried their risotto. Also very very good! I just really have no patience for people who love to jump on the let's-hate-chain-restaurants bandwagon just because. If you have a valid reason, then fine, but don't go ahead and be hatin' just because everybody else seems to be doing it. Be an individual, know what you like and don't like. Ok, rant over. LOL.

Day 7

Now that I've taken a deep breath, let me tell you about Day 7! Oh just let me tell you!

Without sounding too much like a oh-my-life-is-so-fabulous-be-jealous-of-me-now blogger, let me just tell you that my life is just so fabulous and you're going to be jealous of me now!! Haha! I live fairly close, that is walking distance, from the most wonderful Turkish restaurant in New York - and I mean it, New York! I've mentioned Sahara before when I made Tom's red lentil soup, because all I could imagine doing then was dipping Sahara's fab bread into the soup. Well my foodie dreams were realized.

To celebrate Rafa's first day at work (yay!), the four of us went to Sahara for dinner. I love going to a restaurant that I've been to many times before and knowing exactly what we should order. Well the starters were eggplant spread, shepherd's salad, and hummus. My family has been going here for years, something like almost 20 I think, mainly because it reminds us of the food from Israel, and the bread, wow!

I had a bit of a stomach ache so only ordered soup as my entree. My eyes instantly focused on 'Red Lentil Soup'. I was thinking, oh I know this soup. If you remember, Tom said his version was inspired by the Soup of the Day at his local Turkish restaurant. The one I had at Sahara was practically the same, only the lentils were pureed, so what I got was this intense, rich and lovely soup. This time I had 'the' bread on the side, and it was perfect together. Rafa and Lorena got the Sahara shish kebabs. The meat is so tender and you could taste the smokiness of the barbecue on them. Rice is usually what is served with kebabs and other main dishes. Sahara's rice is buttery and fluffy - it is not the typical long grain rice. My mom buys Turkish rice, so it has to be something else, although I do not know what. Isaac got some grilled chicken. That's always a good thing!

All in all a fabulous restaurant and eating experience. I could have been rude and not mentioned Sahara at all for fear that it would become too crowded with new customers, but it already is so there is nothing I could do about it. Since we started going it has expanded on both sides and added a garden eating area and an upstairs. Good restaurants should do well; I'm glad to call this one a neighborhood favorite.

Day 8

I was Ms. Crankypants on Day 8 because I was just soooo tired; you'd be surprised how un-fun shopping gets to be when you do it every single day for an entire week. Well thankfully my mood brightened when we had some yummy food at a great Cuban place we have gone to quite often - Havana Central. I usually get a Cuban sandwich with a heap of sweet potato fries -- can you say YUM!? But, this time around I got Pollo Al Ajillo with yellow rice and red beans. It was good but not fantastic! Ah, should have gone for my usual.

Day 9

I cooked! Finally! I think the tourists were tired of eating out every single day, so I think they were looking forward to a home-cooked meal. In the last few days we have eaten Italian, Japanese (kinda), Chinese, Mexican, Turkish, and Cuban. If my friends ever wondered what foodie delights New York City had to bring, they need not wonder anymore. I took them to all my favorite places.

So back to dinner. A bunch of fellow N.com'ers are cooking out of Feast's Ultimate Feasts and Partytime chapters. I made a gorgeous ultimate feast - crunchy pork chops with garlicky spinach and tomato salad. The pork chops are dipped in an egg mixture of egg (durr!), dijon mustard and oregano. They are then coated with breadcrumbs mixed in with some grated parmesan.

The dinner was a great success... It brought a smile to this domestic goddess to see Isaac pick up a chop at the end and eat almost every last bit. The salad was garlicky and perfect with the crunchy chops - yum!

Day 10

I brought bagels! No New York experience is complete without some fresh Brooklyn bagels! I got up and went out while some were still sleeping (rum 'n' coke hangover) to get some fresh bagels from Bagel Boy, known for its fab bagels and long lines! Well the line wasn't too long, and the bagels were fantastic! I picked up some cream cheese and egg salad too. Yummy breakfast! The bagels were soft, chewy, and warm. Mmmm.

After breakfast we got some sun and surf at the beach, and then joined the rest of my family for dinner at my mom's. It was a full lunch Russian-style. Vareniki, salad olivé, eggplant spread, zharkoi (a type of veal stew with potatoes), avocado spread, etc. I made some Challah! for the occasion. Lovely.

Afterwards we went into Times Square for a last look, and had some awesome elevator-riding experiences at the Marriot Marquis. We apparently weren't 'business casual' enough for The View restaurant - that revolving thingamigy restaurant. But the elevators were awesome.

The Spaniards, hubby included, were a bit hungry - I won't tell my mom, it's a sin to be hungry after a meal at her place! They put out a whole Spanish spread complete with Spanish wine.

Ok, maybe barbecue Pringles aren't that Spanish - but these Spaniards eat potato chips with everything!!! I am not a wine drinker, but I was convinced to at least have some tinto - Sprite with red wine. It was actually very nice! Now it's 12:43am and they are still talking - take that rum away from them!!! LOL. They leave tomorrow. :( It'll be sad without them here. We've had someone to hang out with for the last 10 days, so it will be very quiet. We've had some good times and really good food. And now, I'll actually have to cook something for once!

The Spanish Invasion - Day 4

2006-08-14T12:45:00.000-04:00

Day 4 was my last free day to hang out with my Spanish friends. With most of the major monuments already seen, we focused on some shopping and people-watching. We started in Union Square and went to Filene's Basement and DSW for some retail therapy - I picked up a fetching pink polka dot shopping trolley! The view from the store was really beautiful too!

Betcha didn't know you could get such a view from Filene's Basement! :)

After taking advantage of great markdowns, we walked down to Noho and Soho, stopping first at Max Brenner's new chocolate shop. I had reached chocolate nirvana!! Max Brenner is an Israeli that has a few chocolate stores in Israel; this store just off Union Square is his American debut. Brenner's belief is to make chocolate eating an experience onto itself. I like his philosophy!

A few blocks down and we were sampling the gorgeous drinks at the previously mentioned Aroma café. I had gone back there specificially for the iced chocolate, and it did not disappoint.

After walking around the shops in Soho, we made our way to Chinatown. Now, this was the disappointment of the entire day. Well, unsurprisingly, Chinatown was packed to the gills. I think Lorena and Isaac were overwhelmed by the noise and foot traffic. Lorena did take some nice foodie shots - you can't beat chinatowns when it comes to cheap and good produce and fish!

But, the worst part was the food! Now if you never thought anyone could possibly eat badly in Chinatown, think again. We headed down Mott Street to our fave Chinese restaurant, Wo Hop. This restaurant is steps down in a basement type of atmosphere - not the best decor, but the food is top-notch, and just as important, cheap as chips! There was a HUGE line to get down there (we think it is now popular through word-of-mouth and the signs which weren't there before), so we went to the above ground Wo Hop, where the chef is supposedly downstairs Wo Hop's son. I had some General Tso's shrimp which wasn't too bad, but the three had fried rice, and it just didn't taste good! I really hope to bring them to the real Wo Hop while they are here; and if anyone is reading this and in New York, downstairs Wo Hop is mine, all mine, don't go there!!!!

We called it a day after that -- we took the train all the way to the beach for some relaxation on the sand and a walk on the Brighton Beach boardwalk. I'm hoping to feature Brighton Beach on a soon-to-come stop on the Magical Culinary Tour, but here's a bit of sneak preview beforehand.

The boys were still hungry after our disappointing meal, so they dished up some Sevilla-ish sandwiches at home. Big baguette + jamon serrano + tomatoes + oregano = two happy Spaniards!

The Spanish Invasion - Day 3

2006-08-12T23:33:00.000-04:00

After all the walking we have been doing we decided to take Day 3 easy. Rafa was at work in the morning, so I cooked up a lovely American-style breakfast.

These are Tessa Kiros' Sauteed Potatoes with Egg from Apples for Jam. Sooooo yummy! The potatoes are first boiled and then sauteed in garlic and oil and sage. Mmmmmmm. This was loved by all!

After a bit of lounging around, all of us headed back into the city.

This time we would make Uptown our playground. We went to the fantastic and huge shops on 57th street and 5th avenue -- Lorena's favorite was The Disney Store. She's a confessed Winnie-the-Pooh-holic! As you could see, I got some honeybear action as well!

For some reason, Rafa just wouldn't quit 'monkeying' around... he just wouldn't let go of his monkey.

Rafa, why can't you do it? Why can't you set your monkey free??

We stopped quickly at Rockerfeller Center....

passing an awesome chocolate shop on the way!

Then, we grabbed some takeout, made-to-order, burritos and tacos at Chipotle and headed to picnic at Central Park.

We found a nice shady spot near Wollman Rink, and enjoyed our burritos and tacos with some fun music from below.

The food was yummy and just what we needed as we were all pretty starved at that point... sitting on the blanket and just enjoying each other's company was all we needed to end the day.

(Damn you, Isaac, I wanted people to think these pictures aren't staged!!!)

After all that food and laying around, I needed to let out a big yawn!! Ah, on to Day 4!

The Spanish Invasion - Day 2

2006-08-11T23:58:00.000-04:00

Day 2 started off with pancakes! Spaniards are not used to much for breakfast -- but I figured if we're going to have a full day of touring and walking as we did on Day 1, well then I think we should have a nice breakfast. But still I went light on my guests with some silver-dollar pancakes -- these are the Jonnycakes from Nigella's How to be a Domestic Goddess. They are comprised of flour and polenta - giving a nice texture. I put some jam and syrup on the table. The favorite combo was maple syrup and lingonberry jam - mmmm!

We then started off our day walking over the Brooklyn Bridge on just about the sunniest day ever!

After walking around the South Street Seaport and lunching at Sequoia, I had to rush uptown for an interview, and then we met up to go to the Empire State Building. The weather was perfect for an eagle-eye view of the city -- here's the Chrysler Building!

After that, we walked over to Times Square. Lorena and Issac were amazed with all the lights and billboards. Times Square, I admit, is not a place I'd like to be for any length of time, but it does have that WOW factor!

Rafa: Hey, someone just took my psycho hat.
Issac: That blows, dude.

The Spanish Invasion - Day 1

2006-08-10T23:33:00.000-04:00

Rafa's best friend, Isaac, together with his girlfriend, Lorena, have come to visit us for the next 11 days!! Really lovely people, despite what you may think from the title above. We had a lot of fun exploring, and for me and Rafa, rediscovering New York. Here are some shots from Day 1.

After walking our Ground Zero, we walked down to South Ferry to catch a boat to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Despite the rough seas and rocking boat, I was in good spirits - it was a beautiful day!

Until it started pouring down, that is.

Isaac and Lorena enjoyed a wonderful New York delicacy - the pretzel! Mmmm.

Don't worry - we fed them a bit more than that. For dinner we had some BBQ at R.U.B. BBQ in Chelsea --- they were blown away by the portions of food!! BBQ is known for the big portions of crispy onions and fries. Delicioso!

Then we let down our hair while doing some shopping to end Day 1. Here's Rafa:

Ah, ain't that the truth!

The Boston Salad

2006-08-06T08:37:00.000-04:00

Last night I figured out what to do with the resto the pesto. :)

Inspired by the salad I had at Sonsie, I decided to recreate it in a way, putting my own spin on it based on the ingredients I had on hand.

What follows in my take on the Sonsie salad. If for some odd reason you want to try this at home, don't take my measurements and use of ingredients as gospel -- this a kind of DIY salad.

Sonsie Salad

Serves 2

1 lb. (400g) skinned, boneless chicken breast
1/2 punnet grape tomatoes, halved
cooked spinach, either from fresh or frozen
20g goat cheese, sliced
pesto sauce
1/3 cup dry bread crumbs
1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan
1 tablespoon butter salt and pepper to taste

Cut the chicken breast into three or four long and skinny pieces. Reserve some of the pesto sauce (about 1/4 cup) in a separate bowl, and use the rest to marinade the chicken, tossing well and adding a bit of salt. Set the chicken aside for two or three hours.

Mix together the bread crumbs and parmesan until fully incorporated. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Put the butter and the olive oil (about a tablespoon) from the marinade in a hot pan and wait until the butter sizzles. Take out the chicken from the marinade, and coat it on both sides with the bread crumb mixture. Fry it on a medium high heat for about three to four minutes on each side, until nicely golden.

Meanwhile, dress the cooked spinach with the juice of one lime and some sea salt. Arrange it on a serving platter. Place the halved tomatoes on top of the spinach and sprinkle with a bit more sea salt and extra virgin olive oil. Place the chicken on top of the tomatoes, and scatter goat cheese slices all around. The steam from the spinach should soften the goat cheese further. Drizzle the reserved pesto sauce over the goat cheese and tomatoes and chicken. And serve!

The salad turned out to be delicious! I loved how you could taste the pesto in the chicken through its breadcrumb coating, and the goat cheese tasted fantastic along with the spinach and tomatoes.

So, I was able to come up with something on my own -- there's hope for me yet! (p.s. a GREAT way to use up pesto sauce; thank you for your suggestions as well, will keep in mind for the future!)

Presto! Pesto!

2006-08-04T08:22:00.000-04:00

Last night was probably the worst night to come home and make dinner. After work, following numerous train delays, I finally got a chance to run about a zillion errands. It wasn't until two hours later that I finally got home, drenched in sweat -- it's hella hot out there! Dinner seemed like a far away mirage -- something highly unattainable but desperately desired, as I need to get through this project!

If it wasn't for the quick and simple recipes in the Pasta chapter, I don't think I would have even bothered with dinner at all, as I inhaled an entire bag of Bamba upon my arrival home.

But this recipe could be made ahead, so it was perfect for me!

111. Pasta with Pesto - *Pasta*

Pesto is one of those things that everyone and their mother know how to make, but everyone has different recipes they swear by. Tom is no exception. His pesto recipe, quite traditionally, has basil, pine nuts, and parmesan, but he is very clear on the correct process of making proper pesto.

So, first you blitz up some basil (I was able to salvage some awful looking leaves that I found in my grocery store), pine nuts, and garlic.

Then, instead of adding anything else to the food processor, you instead fold in the grated parmesan and olive oil. Tom says pesto should never be a fine sauce; folding in the rest of the ingredients ensures it remains a sauce with texture.

Then, the pesto is simply seasoned with salt and pepper, and set aside until you need it.

About an hour later, I boiled up some orecchiette, drained it carefully to leave some water on the pasta, and quickly folded in a couple of tablespoons of the pesto sauce.

I grated a little bit more of the parmesan on top, and dinner was served!

This was very yummy, very garlicky, loved it! I needed to season it with a bit more salt, but that was hardly a tragedy. I have a little bit of the pesto left, so I am not sure what to do with it. Perhaps I'll use it for some grilled chicken. There is a variation on the pasta recipe above to use it with pasta, potatoes, and fava beans. But, for some reason, potatoes with pesto have always given me an icky feeling, don't ask why, so I'm debating if I'll skip it or not. Hmmmmn. What shall I do with the resto of the pesto??

Playin' hookie.

2006-08-02T12:16:00.000-04:00

I had every intention of going to work today - I promise. At 6:48am, my alarm went off. I turned it off, as per usual, and waiting until 6:52am to get out of bed. Then Rafa turned to me and said - 'stay home today -- we'll go to the beach.' Ha, you don't have to ask me twice!!!

So we went to the beach early -- around 9am. The water was calm and the breezes generous. On the hottest day of the year, it felt nice to dunk into some bone-chilling Atlantic water. We didn't stay too long, just enough to get the beach hungers in our belly.

We came home and I started to make Rafa an omelette only a bacon-lover could appreciate!

110. Bacon Omelette - *Toast*

I don't like bacon. But, perhaps the worst shock of it all is that I have never had bacon, ever. Lisa and Troy were quite shocked by this when I admitted my virgin status to them on my recent trip to Florida. 'But, have you ever had Bacos bacon bits?' No, Troy, I have never had Bacos.

I don't know why I am so opposed to bacon. I'm not a religious Jew in any shape or form. I just always thought of it as a type of oily greasy spoon type of food. It just never appealed. But, Rafa loves bacon! So it only seemed like the right thing to do.

You start off the omelette by first frying a few rashers of bacon in a pan with butter. Once it is done to your liking, you set it aside in a separate dish, with the oil and butter from the pan.

Then, some broken and seasoned eggs are added to the hot pan, and once the omelette is semi-set you add the bacon on top with butter and all.

I folded the omelette into a bread roll and served it to Rafa. It got a big thumbs up!!

There you go, easy and simple -- and perfect for a morning out on the beach when only pure comfort food will do.

Picky Eaters Club: Month 4

2006-08-01T10:54:00.000-04:00

This post should really be called 'Didn't-do-fuck-all' Club: Month 4. Oh, Ilana (shaking my head), what have you been doing with yourself that you only managed to make 14 recipes in 31 days!! I'm too scared to even see what that rate of recipes per day is, yikes!!

So the project is obviously going to have to be extended another month, maybe two. It's really hot here. Going to be around 100ºF; this is the only time I'm actually happy I work here, at Crapco. Air-conditioning -- that I don't have to pay for myself!!!

Ok, so despite July being a slow month when it came to Cupboard Love cooking, I did eat fabulously!

Here are my faves:

95. Spaghetti and Tinned Plum Tomatoes - *Pasta*
96. Grilled Shrimp - *Grills*
100. Spaghetti with Ricotta and Herbs - *Pasta*
101. Something 'Smoreish' - *Afters*
102. Rocky Road - *Afters*
104. Prawns and Red Curry - *Thai*
105. Garlic and Tomato Sauce (Aglio Dorato) - *Pasta*

I got to cook a lot out of the Afters and Thai chapters. That's good news because these were my least used chapters up until now. I poached eggs and made hollandaise sauce for the first time, became better at improvising and not taking myself so seriously. Just last night, I was so tired and hungry, and I made a fab salad of mixed designer leaves, lime vinaigrette, spring onions, corn, blanched zucchini, goat cheese and toasted pine nuts. Not only was it so delicious, but I didn't take a picture of it! But, no, that's a good thing. As much as cooking and taking pictures are my two loves, as much as I am a slave to recipes, no matter how basic they are, I actually managed to make up a salad on my own based on instinct and past fab eating experiences, and I didn't think I was so uppity that I needed to show the entire world how fabulous I was by doing it. I mean, people do this every day, make lovely meals, from their own intuition. But let's face it, I am not like those people every day. I do love my cookbooks, and I do love to show off my cooking. I'm not ashamed to say that this blog is a way for me to show off; a grown-up version of 'look mummy, look what I've done'. Is there one blogger who isn't just the tiniest bit self-absorbed?

Well, I guess my point is, I'm growing. And I don't mean horizontally -- and certainly not vertically! As a cook, I mean, I'm appreciating things more. I'm trying out new ingredients; ordering things I would have never ordered at restaurants. Of course, I still have a long way to go.. haha, and a lot more to grow!!

Magical Culinary Tour: Boston (Day 2)

2006-07-30T23:59:00.000-04:00

The second day:

We got an early start on Day 2. We left Rosie's apartment in Central Square and headed towards Boston, on foot! We passed by a funky Korean supermarket; it looked almost identical to the Asian markets by me, so I am happy Rosie has that access as she is the queen of Asian cooking!

On the way to the Charles River, we passed by M.I.T. I half-expected to see some guys with unkept hair and pocket protectors come out of the buildings, but I guess it was too hot for that!!

The Charles River was beautiful -- unfortunately we didn't get to see too many boats on the water, but I did on my way to the airport later on. A beautiful sight!

A few minutes after crossing the Charles River we reached Newbury Street. Rosie tried to describe it to me in New York terms, being a seasoned New Yorker herself. It's a cross between the West Village, Soho, and 5th Avenue. So, it's packed with cafés and funky stores, but also Gucci and Valentino. But Newbury Street is a long stretch of a road, I know, because we walked the entirety of it, so there was really something for everyone. We stopped off at brunch at the very hip and 'now' Sonsie.

In addition to the atmosphere and the scene, which was fantastic (we got a table right by thesidewalk for people watching), the food was INCREDIBLE!!! I was so unbelievably impressed. Rosemary had a burger and fries thing - told you she likes her meat -
and I had such an incredible salad. Mmmm, please let me describe. Well the 'official' title of the salad is Parmesan Fried Portabello Mushrooms with Ugly Tomatoes and Pesto Cheese, but if I was to name this dish it would be Mmmm, mmmm and mmmm! So, the mushrooms were fried, obviously, and I'm guessing they probably cut up a huge portabello in long slices, battered it, and fried it. YUM! These were over perfectly soused chunky tomato slices and a generous portion of pesto cheese - I want to say it was goat cheese cause of its creaminess but I'm not sure. All of this was over some gorgeous arugula, in a lovely lemony vinaigrette, with pesto drizzled all over. This was just so fantastic! I don't think there are even enough words to describe it... Maybe just one letter, mmmmmmmm! Have a look yourself!

I've mentioned before that my dad always says I could feed a small country with the amount of food I always leave behind. Well, not this time! I practically licked that plate clean.
But I of course had room for dessert, and wouldn't you, with a name like this: Frozen Callebaut Chocolate Fudgesicle. I know that Callebaut is up there with the other Jaguars and Rolls Royces of chocolate, so I had to partake. It did not disappoint!

After the intense eating session we had, we continued on down Newbury Street, stopping at an awesome candy store with every shade of M&M's you could imagine!
I unfortuntely didn't buy any because I knew that the chocolate wouldn't survive the heat, but it was a really cool sight to see. The store had lots of imported chocolate bars too - curly whirlies, Aero, Crunchie, etc. Awesome!

Newbury Street ends at the Boston Common, which is a very beautiful and chilled out park. We rested a bit there, taking in the nice breeze and fabulous environment,and local wildlife.

And that was basically it. :( A short trip, but great, nonetheless, and made even more special for spending quality time with my Rosie.

There wasn't any time for cooking, unfortunately, just lots of walking and eating! Oh, and I must have gone into about 5 different GAPs. Awful sales!

So, I need to get back on track now with the project. It's obvious I won't be able to finish by the end of September, but maybe by 2007 I will, LOL, at this rate!!! Did I mention we're experiencing yet another heatwave here, and it will be in the triple digits this week... Just thought I'd mention that! :S

Magical Culinary Tour: Boston (Day 1)

2006-07-30T07:52:00.000-04:00

The blog is on the road again!!

For the weekend I decided to visit my good friend, Rosie, up in Boston/Cambridge. She had to move here for work, and is not too thrilled with life here at the moment, so I thought I'd give her some company, plus have some fun times in Boston!!

Although I didn't bring Cupboard Love with me, I thought it'd be fun to do a sort of cultural and food tour of Boston.

The first day:

Well, lots of walking, and we stopped at Harvard to have a bit of a rest in the shade. It was so serene -- I was reminded of Love Story and waited for Oliver and Jenny to walk out of one of the dorms. Just sitting there, I felt smart. Rosie and I had one of those 'what-are-we-doing-with-our-lives' conversation. Way too philosophical for a lazy Saturday afternoon!!

We had lunch at a sorta touristy Mexican restaurant in Harvard Square. The food looked beautiful...

but I think my enchilada was just way too cheesy! I thought enchiladas had rice IN them. Hmmmn, well, Rosie's 'burro' was good.

We stopped at a chocolate shop -- renowned for its, well chocolate, and various other desserts and pastries. L.A. Burdick was in the heart of Cambridge, just off Harvard Square. Many people were drinking what looked to be iced chocolate concoctions. I bought a chocolate bar and took in the environment of the rest of the chocoholics surrounding me. Rosie reminded me of a place in Paris that specialized in macaroons, as we had seen similar ones at this chocolate shop. We discussed how we didn't see the fuss and why anyone would pay 20 euros for two macaroons or something ridiculous like that. It's madness -- agreed! Rosie says, "It's just wafer and cream." Actually, Ro, it's meringue and cream, but I totally see your point. LOL.

So after the chocolate shop the test of will and nerves began. We continued walking down Brattle Street, seeing amazing and gorgeous mansions from days of yore. I'd like to say they were 'colonial' but I don't know shit about architecture, so bear with me!

We walked about 45 minutes, in the heat, in the opposite direction. Should mention to you that Rosie is horrible with directions -- but she insisted we were walking back towards Cambridge. When we consulted a couple of locals, we found out that we, actually she, was wrong! So aboard a bus we got, and headed back to her place.

After resting our tired feet, we decided to have some Italian food in Boston's Little (actually quite Big) Italy in the North End. It is basically one long street, Hanover, with side streets all full of gelaterias, pastry shops, and Italian shops and restaurants -- not like the bullshit that is NY's Little Italy, this one actually had Bostonians hanging out in it.

Did I mention that Bostonians are hard core Red Sox fans?! Man, I'm glad I didn't wear my Yankee jersey to dinner, sheesh!

We went to La Summa, an Italian restaurant off of Hanover Street. Judging by the 45-minute wait, we were assured that the food was good... And it was!

We had a fantastic salad for starters. Following on my adventure in trying out new cheeses, I suggested we try a salad of mixed greens, gorgonzola (!), fennel, figs, walnuts and a raspberry vinaigrette. Well, what can I say, I love gorgonzola!!! Woohooo! But I also discovered how gross fennel is -- yuck! Licorice, anyone?! So I really have to improvise with the fennel salad I have coming up in Cupboard Love.

For our mains, Rosie had the House Special, which is probably every meat imaginable. She likes her meat! It was in a fantastic mushroomy pepperoncino sauce. Yum! I soaked up some of the remaining juices with the ciabatta they put on the table.

I had some jumbo shrimp in a light pomodoro sauce over linguine. Not being a lobster or crab person, I thought I'd at least have one type of seafood Boston is known for. The shrimp was succulent and delicious. This is a happy and full Ilana!

Afterwards, we walked back to the Red Line, passing some very happy and drunk Bostonians on the way. It seems like Saturday night's alright for drinking... and a lot of it!

We also stopped by a cute cupcake shop called Lulu's. How adorable is this cupcake?! I can also say it was delicious!! I had half of it there and then, and the other half back at Rosie's with some organic vanilla soy milk -- how virtuous!

Speaking of which, I barely felt my feet when we got back to Rosie's apartment.. and she said today we would do some more walking from her neck of the woods to Newbury Street, where she promised posh cafes and a cute scene. I'm dreading the walk, but not the experience... on to Day 2! Hopefully I'll regain some feeling in my legs.

One-Way Ticket

2006-07-26T14:54:00.000-04:00

Many people that 'know' me know what a great desire and pull I have to live in Israel. Something happened between age 0 to 6 that made me completely and utterly in love with my birth country. Many people will also know that I have tried living the 'Israeli' life, and have failed, miserably. First time, on a junior-year abroad thingie, I ended up spending most of the time with my fellow American students. When I moved there for two years for my Master's, well, I did my best, but it was just too lonely without my immediate family.

But, back to today. As always, I read the NY Times food columns every Wednesday. I was pleased to find an article about the new Israeli joints opening up all over Manhattan, and then a sort of panic set in. It's best summed up in the following quote I got from this article, about the newest Israeli coffee shop opening up:

"Israelis are proud, it's something that is theirs."

So, I was of course proud to see my country being represented in the foodie world here, but then I felt all territorial... yeah, ok, Americans will love it, but it's ours!! I had horrible images of Americans touring the new Israeli haunts as if we were a country in Epcot Center.

The article in the NY Times lists a few of the cool spots in the city, that have everything Israeli from shakshuka to hummus, schnitzel and falafel, and since the article is only available for free for two weeks, I thought I'd list them for you here.

Taim (means 'tasty' in Hebrew, by the way) - 222 Waverly Place (Seventh Avenue South)
Chickpea - 23 Third Avenue (St. Marks Place)
Aroma - 145 Greene Street (Houston Street)
Holyland Market - 122 St. Marks Place
Yummy Shawarmy - 71 Seventh Avenue South (Bleecker Street)
Hummus Place - 109 St. Marks Place (First Avenue)

All these places are close enough to have a sort of foodie walking tour, but since I only had one hour for my lunch, today I chose to go to Aroma. For those not in the know, Aroma is the first U.S. installment of the Israeli espresso bar. This is BIG. Especially, since Israelis are very serious about their coffee - the fact that they would want to expose the rest of the world to their coffee is warming, but at the same time, in true Israeli fashion, they want to show people what coffee is all about! Here is another man-on-the-street quote from a recent visitor of Aroma.

"I told my husband that we really need coffee here (Aroma). The coffee here is simply atrocious. We were in Canada, in the Rockies, in Vancouver, and we couldn't find any decent coffee. Americans don't understand coffee. They love their Starbucks. In my opinion, it isn't coffee. I don't know what it is - it's brown water. Finally, there is a place where you can drink coffee," she groused, and then downed a gulp.

Haha!

Well I have to be honest and say I don't drink coffee! But, this espresso bar also offered salads and sandwiches, so I thought I'd check it out.

OMG, how impressed was I???!!!! I feel like I stepped into Tel Aviv for a second!

The place is gorgeous; brand spanking new! It looks almost exactly like the Aroma chains look like in Israel - the seating includes long communal tables with fantastic swivelly red pleather chairs. You honestly feel like you could be there all day.

I had a mozzarella sandwich - the bread is fantastic! Just like home. I was sitting there, eating my fantastic sandwich, the bread was so good I almost wept. I was sitting across from a very preggers Israeli woman. In true Israeli style she had about five different cellphone conversations, and she couldn't stop saying how things were exactly as they were in Israel - the big salads, the iced chocolate. Oh, and of course, I totally eavesdropped on her conversation. I gave a small giggle when she said that by the time her friend would get there to eat with her she would have already given birth! She saw me laugh, so I think my cover was blown.

The lemonade was fantastic too! A bit on the tart side, just how my uncle makes it!

The best part is that once you order, your name is called when your order is ready. The woman at the microphone was a fantastic Israeli chick, and she said in her hoarse, three-packs a day, Israeli accent, 'Eeeeeelana!' Yes, that is how my name is said. Not, Eh-lana, not Ih-lana, it's Eeeeelana!

So even if I can't have Israel, I can have some part of it -- the food, arguably the best part!

Greenmarket

2006-07-25T20:04:00.000-04:00

Well after the fun I have been having, I needed to get my head thinking project-wise! With such success with the Thai curry last week, I thought I'd give it another go!

108. DIY: Make your own curry paste - *Thai*
109. Thai Vegetable Curry (summer) - *Thai*

I didn't get to make my own curry paste in Florida, so I took the opportunity to make one tonight.

I decided on 'Green' since the Red tends to be pretty spicy, and I was keen on some variation.

The following ingredients go into a food processor: green chillies, ginger, lemongrass, lime leaves, cumin, turmeric, coriander (the spice, not herb), garlic and soy sauce. Since I was keeping it veggie I used soy sauce instead of fish sauce or shrimp paste. I really don't like the taste of either, so the veggie version works for me!

The result, erm, was not so much green as brown with specks of green. I think that has to do with the fact that the soy sauce colored it.

This curry paste will be good for a little while, so look out for it in future curries!

With the paste done, I could now focus on the actual curry, and thus the reason for my post title. I didn't exactly go shopping at Greenmarket in the city, but my ingredients for the curry looked like all shades of green, I was quite impressed!

The hardest part of the curry was the chopping. So, I heated up some vegetable oil in a wide pan, and then I added some sliced zucchini, spring onions and mangetouts.

Oops, forgot the bean sprouts!! Oh, here they are! Sike!!!!

Then, I added the curry paste and a little bit of coconut milk to get the veggies covered. I added the rest of the coconut milk, some water, soy sauce, sugar, lime leaves and lime juice. I let the veggies simmer until tender, and added just a tad more salt to taste.

I garnished the top of the curry with parsley and served it up with some lime-infused rice.

As lovely as this was, I just wasn't hungry for some reason. I am not sure why -- but I did manage to finish my bowl. It was really delicious, and while eating it, I couldn't help being proud of myself for making a Thai curry from start to finish, down to the homemade curry paste. That was cool!

Well I have a little bit left for lunch tomorrow which goes along great with my I-refuse-to-be-poor initiative!

Oh, almost forgot, I did have a bit of room for dessert -- Rafa's cheesecake that I baked for him. Scrummy!

Inspiring Dinner

2006-07-25T08:48:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, Rafa turned the big 3-0! We did something we don't often do, go to a nice restaurant. This one was situated right on the water - Sheepshead Bay - and we got a great table overlooking the boats on the bay. :)

Now, as a foodie, I of course had to judge the food as well... Il Fornetto did not disappoint!

For appetizers, we shared a plate of calamari and an amazing goat cheese salad. (More on that later.) For our mains, I had their brick oven pizza - capers, kalamata olives, roasted red peppers (ya, can you believe it?!) and mozzarella on a plum tomato sauce. Rafa had some yummy chicken in white wine dish over herby mash potatoes.

Now, back to the salad. Wow! I have never had goat cheese before, and I must say, I LOVE IT! It was creamy and not overly salty. Just a perfect flavor. The rest of the salad was fantastic too; arugula and watercress in a raspberry vinaigrette with toasted pistachios. So fabulous! I was so full that I had only a little bit of my pizza later on - but I have lunch for today!

Anyway, now that I have discovered a new thing I love I am anxious to recreate it at home. I knew getting the goat cheese, pistachio and greens was easy enough, but I wasn't sure how to go about making the raspberry vinaigrette. So, I found a recipe on Epicurious, and I hope that you will join me in making this salad.

ARUGULA, WATERCRESS, AND GOAT CHEESE SALAD WITH RASPBERRY VINAIGRETTE

Joe Dion of North Charleston, South Carolina, writes: "Because I work in a restaurant (I'm a chef at a place called Slightly North of Broad in Charleston), I don't let my cooking at home get too complicated. I'm at the restaurant five days a week and often work on weekends, but whenever I have the chance I enjoy getting together with friends and cooking for them."

Fresh raspberries flavor the dressing and give this light salad its sweet tang; the pine nuts add crunch.

1 cup fresh raspberries, divided
1/2 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons raspberry vinegar or white wine vinegar
1 shallot, chopped
1 teaspoon honey
1 5-ounce bag mixed baby greens with arugula
2 cups small watercress sprigs
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
1 cup crumbled soft fresh goat cheese (about 4 ounces)

Puree 1/2 cup raspberries, oil, vinegar, shallot, and honey in blender. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper.
Combine remaining 1/2 cup raspberries, greens, watercress, and pine nuts in large bowl. Toss with enough dressing to coat. Divide salad among plates. Sprinkle with goat cheese. Serve, passing remaining dressing separately.

Makes 6 servings.
Bon AppétitApril 2005
Joe Dion, North Charleston, SC

*I would make slight variations to this recipe based on some reviewers' remarks and my own preferences.

I would only use 1/2 cup of raspberries, and not put the remaining in the actual salad. The dressing itself that I had last night was not very thick, so I'd watch to make sure the vinaigrette is the consistency I want. The pine nuts add a nice touch, but I don't think I'd crumble the goat cheese. I like having the cylinders on top of the salad, and I could break it off as I pleased.

Improv

2006-07-23T16:14:00.000-04:00

I'm really getting a hang of the whole cupboard-loving thing. Rafa came home today from work hungry for lunch; I hadn't planned on anything, since I was busy making a cheesecake earlier, and losing a bid on Ebay too! We had a cooked chicken breast in the fridge and some of the yummy sauce from last week's pasta. So, I decided to make an impromptu pollo al ajillo, the tapa favorite of chicken in garlic sauce.

All I did was add the oily part of the sauce to a hot pan. Then, I added the chicken breast and rubbed on the tomato/garlic part of the sauce on both sides. I put the lid on, on a low heat, and let the chicken warm through. The result -- fantastic!

The sauce was already perfectly seasoned, and it was a great dressing for the chicken. Not bad for an impromptu lunch! After Rafa was done with lunch, he left a little bit of bread, and I used the rest of it to mop of all the lovely oily sauce. Mmmmm.

Change of Plans (Warning: Food Porn content!)

2006-07-22T21:15:00.000-04:00

I was supposed to make Rafa his 'lemony cookies' this afternoon, but I got distracted with thoughts of chocolate, so I made these instead.

They're from Apples for Jam (Tessa Kiros) -- Red chapter! Mmmmmmm. I love the combination of dark chocolate and cranberries. These are incredibly moist too!

Well, I don't have any energy to make the lemony cookies. I'm completely stuffed from some sushi we had; I didn't think that was possible! Maybe tomorrow. Better get my baking ass in gear. Rafa's birthday is coming up and I've been promising him cheesecake for a year.

So, here's another itty bitty look. Mmmmmmm.

Puttin' on the Ritz!

2006-07-22T13:47:00.000-04:00

Madame likes to start her morning with a strong cup of tea and breakfast in the sun room. Her eggs are prepared to perfection, standing on top a coral base, with the buttercup yellow sauce lovingly sprinkled on top.

But, back to reality, madame doesn't have a cohort of servants seeing to her every need. The only person close to being her 'servant', though he strongly objects to doing any manual labor of any kind, is off at an early-morning gig at the pool. So, the madame must tend to herself, and see to her own breakfast. For you see, the madame is me!

107. Eggs Royale - *Toast*

The combination of poached eggs on top smoked salmon with a hollandaise sauce is a classic one - but it really isn't anything I have myself eaten. If it had been served at the hotels I stayed in in my life, I probably slept right through it, or would have brushed it off as being too euro-trashy to bother with.

Ah, how times have changed! Well truth to be told, I have no choice but to make the Eggs Royale, because they are in CL, and I really don't have any objection to eggs, smoked salmon, and a sauce made with copious amounts of butter!

So, madame got up not too late this morning and went out searching for smoked salmon. You'd think that living in Lox-ville, it would be easy to find! After hitting dead ends at two stores, she finally decided to go to a small Russian deli. She purchased the smoked salmon, at a steep price, and understood why the title of the recipe included the word 'Royale'.

Coming home, she realized she had forgotten to buy the required lemon for the sauce. Luckily, servant #1 was willing to pick one up on his way home, but his benevolance came at a price - madame had agreed to make him his 'lemony cookies' later on. The things one does to keep her servants satisfied!

When servant #1 finally arrived at the quarters, madame set off to make for the first time not only the hollandaise sauce, but also the poached eggs!

According to Mr. Tom N-D, she would start on the sauce first. (Ok enough of this third-person; I'm getting a headache!)

Well, the sauce was a BITCH to make. I followed directions carefully. I whisked together three egg yolks, some vinegar and lemon juice till pale.

Then, in a small pan, I melted a stick and a tablepoon of butter (!!!) until fizzy and sorta clarified.

The hot butter was then to go into the egg mixture slowly while whisking away. I don't know at which point this was supposed to become thick, but it didn't. And I don't know why. I started freaking out and put the mixture in a small pan and slowly starting heating it and whisking the mixture. Nothing was happening! So I raised up the heat full blast; when it looked like I would have scrambled eggs, I quickly switched off the heat, put the mixture back into the bowl, and start whisking like mad!! And it became thick - wooohoooo!

I seasoned the sauce with some salt and pepper and left it covered on the hob.

Then I started making the eggs! Never ever poached eggs before so was a bit worried! I boiled up some water with salt and vinegar; then I let it simmer and created a sort of vortex in the water by stirring with a wooden spoon. As soon as I would want to add my egg, the vortex would disappear, so I had to call on servant#1 to help me. He was really crap at stirring; it is so hard to find good help these days, but I had no choice. Well the water was sort of vortex-y and I dumped in the broken egg. It sunk to the bottom of the pot, and I hoped it would still become some version of a poached egg.

Well it all turned out to be fine! I put the egg on top a piece of bread with some smoked salmon, and then I drizzled on the sauce.

The egg was a great texture - just set but not overally so. The sauce was a lot punchier than I expected - durr! it has lemon in it! The smoked salmon and bread were of course fabulous. So a pretty good dish! I am not sure if I would bother making it again though, as it seemed to be a lot of stuff happening at once, and I am not sure I am comfortable eating a sauce with three egg yolks in it and a stick and a tablepoon of butter!

But a nice upmarket type of breakfast - and I'm glad I made it!! And now I could say I could make hollandaise sauce, sort of, and poached eggs! What a clever madame I am!

Bring it, G!

2006-07-22T08:39:00.000-04:00

Last night when I was posting pictures of the fabulous bread from Sullivan St. Bakery, I thought that I'm having a sort of unspoken competition with Lisa, each of us showing each other things we know we love but can't get...

So, truthfully, it must have started with me....

I was not afraid to make Lisa incredibly jealous with my pizza shot from a few days ago...
Then, the next day, she showed me a pic, on her blog, of a dolphin jumping up from the water by their house. (She knows how much I love dolphins, and how I didn't see a flippin' flipper the whole time I was in Florida!)
Yesterday was the picture of the bread she and Troy adore.
Today, she got Troy into it too - he posted a picture, on his blog, of Rafa's favorite tipple - a rum & coke - and a huge one at that. If I show that pic to Rafa he will faint immediately.

Hmmn, then now it's my turn. I wonder what I should rub their faces in....

Muahahahahaha.

Happy weekend, all! :D

The Many Uses of 'The Good Bread'

2006-07-21T18:52:00.000-04:00

Lisa and Troy will probably kill me, but I had to talk some more about The Good Bread. That is, the fabarooni ciabatta from Sullivan Street Bakery. They first tasted it on their short trip to New York last month, and then again when I brought a loaf to Florida.

Since the bakery is right by my job, it would be a crime to not indulge in some lovely bread!

At lunch today, I picked up a couple of medium loaves of the ciabatta...

When I was coming home it was pouring down rain, so I obviously couldn't get any ingredients for dinner... I was faced with the dilemma, 'what do I do with this bread before it goes stale?'. I went straight to the Toast chapter!

106. Roast Tinned Tomatoes - *Toast*

I've said in the past I am not a fan of roasted things - apart from chicken! I just find that when veggies get roasted they get all mushy and weird-tasting. Wow, what a mature statement! But I can't be too picky in this project - I am entering now into 'the recipes I wouldn't normally make' phase of the project.

So, roast tinned tomatoes are exactly made as you would imagine.

You empty a tin of whole plum tomatoes into a colander being careful not to break up the tomatoes. You drain it a bit and then put it in a pan oiled with olive oil. A bit of salt is added along with balsamic vinegar, more oil and salt. Finally, a sprig of rosemary goes on top, and it is ready for the oven.

The tomatoes roast for about 25 minutes until wrinkly and slightly charred, and then they just go on top some toast.

I added some grated parmesan too, as cheese was an option.

This was actually pretty good! It still tasted roast-y, but not bad at all. The bread was a perfect vehicle for the tomatoes, so good choice indeed in making this recipe tonight.

Pizza!!!!!

2006-07-19T19:38:00.000-04:00

This is why I love living in Brooklyn!

Trio is back. As I told you some time ago, Trio was closed when an SUV rammed into it. Well they're back; and I should know, as I've been stalking them these last few months! As you could tell from the picture, Rafa was very excited to get started in our pizza love-fest!

If you're wondering what is the fuss with this particular pizzeria and this particular pizza pie, uh, you gotta know it to love it. TRIO ROCKS!! Woooohooooo!

Garlic

2006-07-19T09:01:00.000-04:00

Last night was one of those nights where I had no intention of cooking at all, and faced with a nearly empty fridge, I remembered a very simple sauce recipe in the Pasta chapter.

105. Garlic and Tomato Sauce (Aglio Dorato) - *Pasta*

The sauce for the pasta just combines life's best ingredients -- tomatoes and garlic. I don't think there is any other combo that is a match made in heaven as these two. I wonder who was the first caveman that discovered it.... or it was probably much later on. I haven't really brushed up on my historical anthropology!

The technique for making the sauce is long, but surprisingly, not time-consuming. It is not one of those stirring type of recipes, where you need to hover over a hot stove. That was good news for me, since our heat wave continued last night. I was keeping cool in the living room watching Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune while the sauce was cooking. Here's the process:

5 minutes - heat up a cup (yes!) of olive oil on low heat
10 minutes - slowly cook 8 peeled, but whole, garlic cloves on a low, low heat
(extra 5 minutes of cooking garlic until they become tender)

15 minutes - simmer on a slightly higher flame the sauce, to which you added the pulp of some peeled whole plum tomatoes (San Marzano tomatoes, but of course!)

The sauce is then left to cool for about ten minutes, and then it is pulsed in a food processor till blended and emulsified.

I had to process it twice because I found that the sauce tended to separate a bit. At this point I also added some salt and pepper.

I boiled up some linguini, drained it, and then added a few tablespoons of the sauce to the pasta. Then I just sprinkled on some grated parmesan and pepper, and that was it!

Mmmm, so so good! I thought that the pasta would be oily, like while eating it I would get little oil puddles on my coffee table (I'm a messy eater!), but it wasn't at all. The sauce was like a warm winter coat on the pasta; the two just blended together perfectly.

If the kids (and adults!) are not too garlic-phobic, I recommend this as a weekday family meal. A big bowl of pasta in the center of the table, some garlic bread, and some wine for the parents!

Also, since you only use a bit of the sauce for each serving of pasta, the rest of the sauce could be kept in the fridge and used in the future. I think I will probably have this again this weekend. YUM!

She wasn't kiddin'!

2006-07-18T18:18:00.000-04:00

I told you it was hot in NYC!!

Here is a fellow Brooklynite taking a 'cat nap' on a bench on the boardwalk in Brighton Beach. (Photo courtesy of NY Times) I'm not sure how accurate this portrayal is of old men on Brighton Beach. Most seem to wear G-string speedos. Ewwwwww!

Speaking of Brighton Beach, watch out for more adventures from the Magical Culinary Tour coming this summer! I'm going to list prospective destinations here so I have no excuse to not actually follow through with them!

Astoria, Queens
Arthur Avenue, Bronx
Bensonhurst, Brooklyn
Brighton Beach, Brooklyn
Boston, Massachusetts

Let the fun begin!

Will she? Won't she?

2006-07-18T10:34:00.000-04:00

Vacations are bad! They make you feel like you can rush through the world at the speed of light, that you are more glamorous and beautiful than you really are, that the world can just stop for an instant. The seconds you dunk your head in the water and then pop out could be hours, but they are mere minutes, in reality.

I feel like these last few days I have been in a bubble. I wasn't lazy, I was keen on life, 'full of beans', as my friend would say. I was even able to mostly ignore the awful pit in my stomach over what's going on in my homeland.

Now I'm faced with reality head-on. Thank god my sister and her family were able to relocate further south in Israel. They are staying with my dad, who is in Israel for the next month or so. I hate feeling like awful things are happening all the time, and there is nothing I can do to stop it.

Cooking-wise, am I ready to give myself another jumpstart? It is hot here... and not the 'aww, summer's getting on my nerves' type of hot, REALLY HOT! When I arrived at JFK last night it was something like 90º, and it was almost midnight!

So, what will I cook in this hot weather? I really want to get through some more salad recipes; perhaps a Thai curry here and there. I'm not giving up and so far heading towards my target date. We'll see what the future brings...

As far as I know, I think anyone should sign a Terms and Agreement type of notice when buying airline tickets; I hereby promise that I will not believe that vacations are never-ending, and that I never have to come back home. Employers will be just as annoying upon your return. And as tempting as it is, don't scratch mosquito bites!

Feelin' hot, hot, HOT!

2006-07-17T15:24:00.000-04:00

This is my last day here! Waaaaah!

Lucky me though got to go on an awesome kayak ride....

We got to see some flamingoes -- how cool is that?!

After some shopping, I made lunch!

104. Prawns and Red Curry - *Thai*

Our shopping expedition including getting some coconut milk and Thai red curry paste.

I started cooking by defrosting and deveining some shrimp. I also zested a lime and chopped up some parsley.

As always, I started on the rice first. I spritzed some lime into the rice water to give it a bit of a zing.

So, for the shrimp, I heated up some oil in a wide frying pan and added the shrimp. After letting them cook for a couple of minutes, I added the red curry pasre and a dash of coconut milk to make sure the shrimp was coated.

I added the coconut milk, lime juice, zest, soy sauce (we don't like fish sauce) and some sugar. I let the mixture simmer for a little bit.

Then I spooned the curry into a few bowls and garnished each with chopped up spring onions and parsley. (No go with the coriander - fine by me!)

The curry was fantastic!! I have a very sensitive palate and it was definitely on the spicy side. Troy and Lisa, huge spiceophiles, loved it, but had to add some extra chilli flakes to their bowls!! Yikes!

Well I think that just proves how insane they are, but I love 'em anyway!

Quite appropriately, Troy put on 'Hot Hot Hot' while we were eating... I'm off in a sec to the pool for my last swim to cool off!!!

See you back on the other side!

Sunsets are distracting!

2006-07-16T20:38:00.000-04:00

My time in Florida is winding down. I wanted to make just a few more recipes before I left tomorrow, and we had leftovers for dinner, so I thought a perfect snack for after would be brownies!!!

103. Very Quick Brownies - *Afters*

These were indeed very quick to make. I got to use my friend's lovely red KA for this; I almost feel like I'm cheating on my cobalt blue boyfriend, but I'm a baker, does he really expect me to be faithful?!

So, first I started by melting some chocolate and butter together in a pan. I used a combination of 70% cocoa Green & Blacks and milk chocolate.

In the mixer bowl I whisked the eggs and sugar together. To this I added the melted chocolate and then folded in some self-raising flour.

Then, it was just a matter of buttering and flouring the pan (since I didn't have any parchment), and scraping in the mixture. The pan was a bit too big for a brownie pan so I had to do some clever tilting maneuver!

I was fortunate enough to have some kids around to lick the bowls and scraper! Perhaps a bad idea to give them chocolate so late, but I didn't have to tuck them in. Muahhahahahaha.

I set the timer on the oven and put the pan in to bake. The recipe says 20 minutes, but I was planning on checking it after 15 since I knew the mixture would be thin due to the wide pan. And then, this happened...

We sat outside in the gentle breeze, watching the sun go down... It would be my last before my wonderful trip was over. :'( When I came back into the kitchen, there were three minutes left till the brownies were 'done', but I saw that they were far too dry for salvaging. Those who know brownies know that a mere minute makes all the difference; I was walking a tight rope already by using a big pan. Argh, shoulda known better!!

I have to say, though, that my audience loved them!!! They were perfect, they said, with vanilla ice cream. I went a bit overboard with the 'presentation'. Here is the artist at work:

I look a bit demonic with that grin! The things some powdered cocoa would do to a girl!

Voila! The finished product!

Well, all in all, not a bad effort, and as long as the hosts are happy, so am I!

So this is indeed my last night here; I leave tomorrow evening... I have been silly the last few days, and probably laughed and swam more than I have ever in such a short amount of time. The company is great; so is the weather and the cooking. It's really any foodie's dream, but then again, you also gotta have friends like these, and they are so damn special, that would be pretty hard to come by every day. I am lucky!

Good night! :D

Rated Double 'R'

2006-07-14T21:24:00.000-04:00

Time for more dessert!! I said I need to get through the Afters chapter!

102. Rocky Road - *Afters*

So, for after dinner tonight, I made another 'American' classic; rocky road. Most Americans know Rocky Road as an ice-cream flavor. Tom's version is more deconstructed, and each ingredient gives its own special note.

I melted some milk chocolate and quickly tossed it with skinned hazelnuts and mini-marshmallows. I spooned some blobs of it onto some foil and let it cool.

It wasn't long before the peanut gallery discovered it!

At this point it was already evening and the kids were on a strict no-sugar policy, so this dessert was for adults only!

After the mixture cooled, I added it to some cold vanilla ice cream. The combination was heavenly. Such a simple recipe and so incredibly delicious.

Just to prove I'm not a strict person, I saved some of the blobs for the kids to have tomorrow after their lunch -- and their mummy agrees that it is ok.

This is something that kids would really enjoy as well!

Kid's Play

2006-07-14T15:41:00.000-04:00

Back home in Brooklyn, I don't have a big audience for sweet treats! Rafa doesn't have much of a sweet tooth, and let's face it, eating one dessert after another is definitely something my widening hips can't handle!

My friend has four young boys, so I think I was in good company here to try out a kid favorite - s'mores!

Tom's version of s'mores are a bit different than the traditional- which are traditionally made on the campfire - graham crackers sandwich together marshmallows and chocolate. Fantastic! Tom's versions has all the same ingredients, just mixed together in a different way so they are actually a sort of traybake, as the Brits would call it. Lisa and I joked that we should have a bake sale here and make a fortune! Ah, maybe next time! These s'mores were all for us!

101. Something 'Smoreish' - *Afters*

The first thing I did was melt some butter and mix it up with crushed graham crackers!

Then I melted some milk chocolate in a pan (Tom calls for 'dark' but since my audience was pint-size, I thought I'd keep it kiddie-friendly) and started to melt some mini-marshmallows into it. When it was slightly melted, I just mixed it all up with the graham crackers and butter combo. In a buttered pan, I scooped this mixture -- but wait, I had a few distractions before I did that. The kids saw chocolate and marshmallows and they came runnin'!

So once they got a fix of the yummy concoction, I spread the mixture into the pan, with some help! ....

And let it set for about a couple of hours in the fridge. We had some awesome pool time and then a lovely lunch -- the s'mores were dessert!

Needless to say, they were a BIG hit, with the grownups and kids! They were a good bartering tool to make the kids finish their lunch first. I put my negotiating skills at work!

Whatever was left, I cut up and put in a tupperware container - I AM the suburban domestic goddess! LOL.

I could get used to this kinda thing!

Paradise Found

2006-07-14T10:41:00.000-04:00

Just so all you don't think I'm in some kind of kindergarten hell, I wanted to share some pictures of my first two days here.

This place is lovely -- steamy, but lovely!

I have been accepted with open arms by this most wonderful family -- and I feel like I know all them already through pictures and stories. It is great to see them 'in the flesh', so to speak.

This morning I made the boys (and girls!) some french toast. I have become some sort of domestic goddess. Not sure what it is, but I feel excited and thrilled with cooking. And couldn't have come at a better time! I think I'll get through some more Cupboard Love recipes here, so watch this space for that.

Well now I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves.

A Quiet Night In

2006-07-13T19:40:00.000-04:00

The Western Florida tour has officially begun!

I woke up in the crack-ass of the morning (yes, like 4AM, start feeling sorry for me now!) and made my way to JFK. About three hours later I was riding way too fast in a very fabulous corvette!

The rest of the day was spent seeing the wonders that suburban Florida had to give! I was very much looking forward to a lovely and quiet dinner with the Von Trapp family. I had decided to make a family favorite; pasta!

100. Spaghetti with Ricotta and Herbs - *Pasta*

As most of the pasta dishes in CL have proven to be, this one was really a doddle, especially with the help of a very eager basil picker!

You basically boil up some spaghetti and get the sauce ready while it is cooking.

The sauce consists of ricotta watered down by some pasta water, with olive oil, basil, lemon juice, and some salt and chilli flakes mixed in. Since I wasn't using sheep's milk ricotta, I added some parmesan to zest up the flavor.

After the pasta was done I just tossed it with the sauce and brought some parmesan to the table for serving.

The pasta was loved by all. I have to admit to adding loads of parmesan as the pasta still required it. The dish was fantastic!! Even a feisty four-year old went in for seconds!

After dinner, we decided to partake in some lovely bananas.

My, they make them big in Florida! ;)

And then we had a quiet night just chilling! Click here to see what I mean.

Apples 'n' Vermicelli

2006-07-11T20:33:00.000-04:00

Forgive me, Tom, for I have sinned. Due to the fear of OD'ing on Sour Skittles, I have yet again delved into my new Apples for Jam book. I couldn't help it -- I didn't have enough ingredients to make any of your meals, plus I was hit with a fit of childhood nostalgia!

I made the very simple Vermicelli Soup with Lemon and Butter. This soup reminds me of my youth, especially in summertime, because in the humid heat of summer I remember playing outside with my friends. My mom would call me to come inside for lunch. I ran into the kitchen, starving, to be greeted by a hot chicken soup! You would understand my pubescent curiousity as to why my mother would serve me soup when it was boiling outside. I think she once told me it would cool me down - who was I to argue; it's not like I knew how to make anything myself.

The soup, mellow and comforting, made from scratch - I don't think my mom ever used stock cubes - had some lovely vermicelli noodles in there, with green flecks of parsley. It was the best lunch! And now I have found it to be a fantastic dinner!

Tessa Kiros' version of this soup has butter and lemon mixed in with the stock, and then mint and parmesan added at the end. I love lemon and mint in soup! I first fell in love with lemon in soup when eating Nigella's Happiness Soup. It really makes the soup at times!

Eating it I remembered coming in on that warm day - I must have turned 14 that week. I was wearing a green Champion t-shirt (remember when Champion anything was popular?) and white spandex leggings with the bottoms cut off and some lace was there in its place. With great sorrow, I should let you know that these cut-off leggings seem to be making it back into fashion. Lord help us! Well vermicelli soup should never go out of fashion - it is ultimate comfort. Growing up, whenever my mom would serve me soup, she would add the cooked vermicelli separately, at the table. She would ask me how much I wanted - I said 'Eeshaw, eeshaw!' -- 'More, more!' Some things have never changed. Ultimate carb heaven!

** I should mention that the Cupboard Love project is going on the road. Next stop, western Florida! Now, this 5-day trip could go very very well, or very very badly, project-wise, of course. I could come back making loads of recipes, or I could just lounge at the pool for all that time and make nada. Only time will tell, so watch this space!

The Picky Eater Overcomes Salmon!

2006-07-09T18:52:00.000-04:00

Here's a little lesson about picky eaters: Most of us don't like certain foods, not because we have tasted it and not liked it, but instead because we didn't like the look of them, they smell funny, everyone seems to like them and we need to be 'different', etc. Salmon, for me, is an interesting case. For a long time I used to love to eat it cooked; and then one day, I had a horrible kedgeree-making experience and I have gone off salmon altogether. Mind you, I still love salmon in sushi form, and of course, smoked salmon. Hey, I'm a New Yorker!

98. Grilled Salmon - *Grills*
99. Posh Mushy Peas - *Grills*

I mentioned previously that in CL's Grills chapter, Tom shows various ways of cooking different types of fish and seafood. For the purpose of finishing this project on time, I decided to lump fish into one category, and seafood into another. With the grilled shrimps already done a few days ago, I thought I'd finally tackle my fish aversion, namely for salmon!

I picked up a nice piece of salmon fillet and decided I would pair it with some mushy peas. Tom's recipe for the peas actually comes from Nigella. He says he had seen her prepare it on TV but cannot find it in any of her books, so he made up his own from memory. Tom, psst, if you're reading, How to Eat!

I started on the peas and salmon at basically the same time as neither took very long to cook at all.

I blanched a garlic clove in some salted boiling water for a few minutes, and then I added some frozen peas and a couple of mint leaves.

While this was simmering, I oiled a hot pan and seared a salmon fillet skin-side down for about three minutes. I turned it over briefly and then tranferred it to a baking pan. I know that salmon tends to be sort of bland unless heavily seasoned, so instead, I took some advice from the ladies at Nigella.com and made a paste of mustard and maple syrup. I brushed this on the salmon before putting it into the hot oven.

Then, since the fillet was quite small, I only baked it for about 3-5 minutes. It was perfectly done, and not too dry!

While the salmon rested I quickly processed the drained peas, garlic and mint with some sour cream (Tom says creme fraiche, but for only a teaspoon, I didn't want to make a special trip), butter and salt.

Then all I had to do was serve up the salmon with the mushy peas.

The salmon was yummy - it was perfectly cooked, and the glaze definitely gave it a special flavor. The peas were good too! I love the combination of flavors, not to mention how gorgeous they look together on the plate!

Well I guess I'm growing -- I finally ate salmon after my two-year hiatus! Next, anchovies! Yeah right!!!!

Strong Flavors

2006-07-09T16:34:00.000-04:00

At this moment, I amwondering about the fate of this project. I don't want to throw in the towel, but I have to be honest that with this hot weather and general non-inclination to cook anything, I have fallen behind. So right now, I'm not making any decision either way. I will continue cooking and see what happens... For the moment, I'm still here.

Well, with such strong feelings must come a dish with strong flavors. I found it in CL's Pasta chapter.

97. Sapori Forti - *Pasta*

Sapori Forti, in Italian, Tom says, means 'strong flavors'. The strong flavors are incorporated into the sauce for the pasta. My version was a bit toned down, omitting the anchovies and capers.

The sauce is cooked while the water for the pasta is boiling. Basically, all you do is soften some onions and garlic in oil. It is alright to cook them on a high flame so that the onion catches and caramelizes a bit.

If you were to add anchovies, you would do so at this point, when the onions are soft. As you all know, I do not like anchovies at all, so instead just added the rest of the ingredients, minus the capers: pinenuts, chopped mint, chopped olives (I only had green but Tom recommends black!), and plump raisins that have soaked in a bit of warm water. You take this mixture off the heat and add a bit of olive oil to loosen it up. That's it!

The sauce is then just folded into the cooked and drained pasta - the recipe calls for linguine or spiralli, which Tom explains look like chopped up telephone cords. We have rotini here, so I used the tri-color ones we had laying around.

Since the ingredients of the sauce are salty, Tom says not to salt the pasta any further. But, since I only had olives as the salty ingredient, I found that my pasta needed a tad more salt. The pasta was really lovely though - I love the combo of caramelized onions with just about anything. I also love olives and raisins, so this combination was quite welcome! Mmm.

For dessert, I put my new Kitchenaid ice cream attachment to use (birthday present, you see!), and made Strawberry Sorbet from Apples for Jam (another bday gift - I was spoiled!).

A fantastic lunch! I have a bit of pasta leftover so am looking forward to my lunch tomorrow!

The Red, White and Shrimp!

2006-07-04T22:52:00.000-04:00

With a bit of a hectic holiday weekend and no real inspiration to cook, I had to fit in a CL recipe somewhere!! I decided to make a bean and shrimp salad for our 4th of July BBQ, and utilized Tom's method for cooking shrimp in the process!

96. Grilled Shrimp - *Grills*

The fish/seafood section of the Grills chapter is a bit tricky! Tom divides it up into different types of fish, and lumps the seafood all in one category. Since I am not a big fish eater, and since making every type of fish would throw me off the project altogether, I decided for the Grills chapter I will make one type of fish and one type of seafood. I have not yet decided on the fish yet for my project, though am psyching myself up for salmon, but I know my favorite seafood has to make an appearance - shrimp!

The recipe for the bean and shrimp salad comes from Nigella's Feast and At My Table column. Now, for all intents and purposes, the shrimp are not actually supposed to be fried/grilled - they are actually boiled, but I don't think Nigella would object, especially since it is a summer type of dish!

The grilling is fairy simple, as per Tom's instructions. He says seafood such as shrimp and scallops only need to be seared on both sides in a tablespoon of oil. That was easy enough! I had to work in batches, since there was no way a pound of shrimp was fitting in my frying pan.
All in all, it didn't take long, and the result was some beautiful pink and plump shrimp!

They were ready for the salad. The rest consists of some borlotti (cranberry, roman) beans mixed in with some chopped garlic and sea salt. They are then tossed with the shrimp with a bit of oil and some lemon juice. And that's it! The beans and shrimp are mounded on top some radicchio leaves and ready to serve! I assembled the salad at my sister's place for the BBQ.

The BBQ was eaten indoors because we weren't sure what the weather would do. It was an incredibly hot, hazy, sticky day. Ah, typical New York summer, and which also would mean it would start pouring any second. We had loads of meat and veggie dishes -- sausages, chicken wings, grilled sweet potato, Israeli pickles, grilled and boiled corn on the cob. But no BBQ is complete without a lovely dessert!

This time I turned again to Tom's Strawberry and Polenta Shortcake. You may remember that when I made this last September, I didn't have scales and must have measured the flour wrong because what I got was a shortarsecake. This time I used my scales in glee and got two perfect sponge layers. I filled the middle with whipped heavy cream and fresh and gorgeous strawberries. Then, I sprinkled the top with icing sugar and some strawberry decorations. Beautiful!

The cake was a big hit!!! It isn't a big cake, but that not that small either. It was completely demolished. Not one crumb left! That is a triumph for me, as even when I make the most delicious cakes, usually there is at least one slice left at the end - baker's treat. Nope, no such luck. I got a small piece, seen below, but no seconds!

Everyone kept saying how they loved the texture of the sponge - and how it had a hint of lemonyness in it! I have to agree, this is probably my favorite cake to eat at the moment! Both of these recipes are really fantastic. I'm so glad I got to remake this cake and also try out Nigella's lovely salad. She is a marvel!

Back to Square One

2006-07-02T19:23:00.000-04:00

Or rather, to recipe number one. I'm starting with the first recipe in Cupboard Love; pasta and tinned plum tomatoes.

95. Spaghetti and Tinned Plum Tomatoes - *Pasta*

A wise woman once said, well actually she said it just two days ago, "anyone who does not shun tinned toms is my kind of person." Thanks, Redhead! I completely agree. Beautiful tinned plum tomatoes are one of the key cupboard ingredients, and the basic ingredient in Tom's Pasta chapter.

All you need: tomatoes and garlic!

The recipe for the pasta dish is so easy! All you do is squish a tin of plum tomatoes (San Marzano, but of course!) in a colander until you get a nice pulp. Then you add them to a pan in which you sauteed a couple of broken garlic cloves in some butter and oil. It is seasoned with some salt and sugar and is left simmer while the pasta is boiling.

One tin of tomatoes does not yield a whole lot of sauce, so I was a bit worried it wouldn't be enough for the 200 grams of spaghetti.

But once the pasta was done and drained, a teaspoon of butter was added, and the tomato sauce gave the spaghetti a nice coat. I have to admit to adding a few drops of water to the sauce as well. I topped the dish with just a sprinkling of parmesan.

The spaghetti was delicious! Rafa was a bit worried about the amount of sauce too, but after eating a few bites, he said, 'This is really good; you really surprised me!' Phew!! It's true, a little sauce goes a very long way. This spaghetti was full of flavor! This will definitely become another cupboard standby for me! Now I just need to get some more tins of tomatoes!!

Picky Eaters Club: Month 3

2006-07-01T13:40:00.000-04:00

June is over!!! When I started this project I thought how far away the summer was; and now we're here, and one-third of it is gone! Well I am exactly halfway through my project and I am feeling scared. I only did 27 recipes in 30 days! Ok, so 94 recipes in 91 days total! I am below my required rate, yikes! Breathe, taking deeeeeep breaths! Not going to freak out! I have to admit, what a lazy-ass have I been lately -- I get into the mode where I am just running on adrenaline and then I just screech to a halt.

Well I better get my ass in gear. I have two trips scheduled for July, and I have guests coming for 10 days in August.

Let's have a look at new and fantastic ingredients I found!

La Bella San Marzano tinned plum tomatoes - the ones Tom uses - found at Dom's in Little Italy, Manhattan

yellow tomatoes - yes, you've seen the last of them, I promise. I haven't seen them for ages. Must have taken their entire inventory, but you must admit, they were fun for a bit!

dried porcini mushrooms - I'll forgive their crazy price since they're Italian and can't help it!

radicchio

oyster mushrooms

rib-eye steak (yes, my first time buying steak!)

lamb chops (yes, yes, first time too!)

Recipes I loved:

68. Spring Bean Soup - the Peckham Way - *Soup*
70. Bruschetta - *Toast*
78. Spanish Omelette - (dill-flavored variation) - *Toast*
83. Quicker Tomato Sauce - *Junk Food*
84. Napoletana - *Junk Food*
89. Marathon Shake - *Afters*
90. Dried Mushroom Risotto - *Risotto*
92. Pasta with Parmesan (sage variation) - *Pasta*
94. A Winter Bean Salad - *Larder Salads*

Hopefully this holiday weekend will be productive. Well today's a wash out - literally, going to the beach! Monday, I actually have to go to work at Crapco - we don't get that day off! The 4th, well, is the 4th. So really I have tomorrow. I'm in trouble! LOL.

I'm wilting..... wilting!

2006-06-29T18:41:00.000-04:00

On Monday, I made one of Tom's bean salads called A Winter Bean Salad. Well, the weather has taken a turn and now it's hot here, prompting me to make a different version, something I would call A Summer Bean Salad. I'm glad that Tom opened my eyes to the wonder of beans in a salad. I had almost forgotten how much I loved them. During my B.A., I was obsessed with a kidney bean and blue cheese dressing salad!! Well my hips can't handle that obsession, unfortunately, so I made a slimmer version today shortly after returning home from work.

Here's the ingredients list:

tin of kidney beans
one punnet of mixed 'designer' leaves - chicory, radicchio, and baby spinach
halved cherry tomatoes

I tossed the salad with all these ingredients and added a homemade vinaigrette - balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, and lemon juice.

Verdict: Delicious!

Inspired by Tom, made with love by me; you should try it too!

I apologize for my unloving of Cupboard Love lately -- it seems as soon as it gets warm I am physically and mentally incapable of making a shopping list and really planning out my meals. I promise I will catch up soon! :) Don't forget about me!

I just can't help myself!!!

2006-06-27T19:08:00.000-04:00

Many people spend their lives helping other people; finding cures for awful diseases, educating others, leading charity groups. Me, I have my own life mission; finding the perfect risotto!

Yes, I know I had risotto only three days ago, but ever since my sister compared my risotto to the ones in the Risotteria, I just had to see what she was talking about. I went to not-always accurate Menu Pages to find some reviews of the restaurant. Quite surprisingly, it seemed like 8 out of 10 were positive reviews. But it was the negative ones that caught my eye; something about risotto should never be part of a short-order type of menu, that the risotto came to the table too quickly and something had to be wrong with it. I had to agree with these people; I can't imagine tons of tables being served risotto all at once. Were there rows of stirrer-robots in the kitchen standing my risotto pots, and that was there only function. How could one or two chefs possibly produce so many risotti at once?!

This led me to search for my own perfect version of risotto. One that was made with love; where the chef stood by the pan's side, putting all of him/herself in one dish, and one dish alone. The dish would be risotto, and I would be the chef.

If you could count up to six, you would notice that I finished all the risotti recipes in Cupboard Love. I needed a challenge; so I decided to change my favorite one in CL and make it mine. I took the Chilli and Herb Risotto and changed things up a bit.

1. I used the perfect proportion of chicken stock this time - having found out what the proportion finally is after many salty risotti - the stock had a pinch of saffron in it. (Last time, you may remember, I used vegetable stock.)
2. I ladled in more stock each time and had the heat really low so I could finally get the 'al dente' bite back from the risotto.
3. I put it in a combination of chopped rosemary and sage.
4. I took it easy on the chilli flakes so this wouldn't be a three-alarm fiery risotto.

And then I got it; perfection!

'Real' chefs may disagree with me and point out ten thousand things that I did wrong - but I think it was pretty damn tasty. I may not be the smartest person around, I don't know how to play an instrument, can't hold a tune to save my life, but damn, I make some kick-ass risotto. Mission accomplished. And now I'm so full I think I'm going to pass out. Good night, all.

Winter's Eating

2006-06-27T09:02:00.000-04:00

The tricky thing about posting about dinner the next morning is that you feel hungry all over again! And for stuff not necessarily breakfast-like!

New York has been experiencing unseasonal weather lately; not exactly freezing temperatures, but lots of rain and clouds, plus the breeze which always feels cold without some sun hanging around. It's bummed me out! I thought I'd turn to something comforting for dinner last night, but at the same time, something not too laborsome either. I found my dish in the Larder Salads chapter.

94. A Winter Bean Salad - *Larder Salads*

I have to admit that I haven't given this chapter much respek in this project! I'm not a salad type of person. I don't know why, but I find it too annoying to prepare; all that chopping, all those extra ingredients, etc. But the great thing about salads is that they could be made ahead of time, and that a lot of things constitute as a salad. The bean salad I made last night is certainly a different take on my idea of one.

The salad ingredients included one vegetable I have never actually bought, and am not sure I tasted either -- radicchio. I knew what it was though, or at least I have heard of it. I used to watch When Harry Met Sally endlessly as a kid, and it is my favorite movie - now you know how I picked my blog title. I remember at the 'double date-that-never-was' scene that Sally had ordered a 'grilled radicchio'. I thought how fancy she sounded ordering that, and imagined myself at her age doing the same thing.

So the 'radicchio' I attributed to being a very posh type of veggie. And it certainly looked posh to me.

The rest of the salad ingredients are actually pretty standard -- canned cannellini beans, 'good' olives, parsley, thyme or rosemary, and parmesan or pecorino romano. Sounds like a fab combo, no??! Well definitely definitely yes! I had jotted down the ingredients yesterday at work; Rafa had given them to me over Messenger - bad girl, Ilana, I should be working!

To accompany the salad, I decided on Nigella's Soft White Dinner Rolls from Feast. I have made these countless times so it was a no-brainer.

I had the dough rising for the second time when I got started on the salad. So, I chopped up a radicchio, after cutting out the core.

Then I chopped some rosemary (it looked better than the thyme at the store) with some flat-leaf parsley.I chopped up some olives and grated some parmesan. Then, I drained the beans and reserved their 'liquor'. I took half of this reserve and heated it on a low heat with some olive oil and red wine vinegar. To the pan, I added the radicchio, chopped olives, chopped herbs and beans. I tossed it around for a few seconds, and quickly took the pan off the heat. It's a warm salad - but not necessarily cooked. Tom gives the option that if I was to serve it warm, I should incorporate the cheese into the salad rather than serving it on top. And I did just that.

The bread rolls were done baking, and I brought the salad to the table.

It was gorgeous! A really really delicious dish - and if you didn't get that, IT WAS REALLY GOOD! No, seriously, we really enjoyed it. The sauce out of the bean liquor and olive oil and vinegar was perfect - no extra seasoning was needed. The radicchio was soft and warm and blended in perfectly with the beans and herbs. The olives added a sharpness, but were not too obtrusive. The dish was to include capers, and I actually convinced Rafa that he should try them, but just my luck, the store didn't have them.

And the dish was great with rolls too, as there was lots of 'juice' to mop up. Mmmmmm. See, now I'm hungry again!

The recipe serves 4, and I was really hoping there would be some left for me today, but no, we demolished it! Well all the more reason to make it again, which I will! Yum!

A welcome distraction, with some S&M

2006-06-25T20:19:00.000-04:00

You may be reading the post title and wondering what I'm on about. Well I have been so involved in Cupboard Love lately, I haven't had a chance to cook out of other books. While reading The Next Nigella, I came across a Nigella Lawson dish from How to Eat I have never tried before, and I was sorely tempted. 'The Next Nigella' had made Nigella's mash from Nigella Bites and paired it with the Red Wine, Cumin and Onion Gravy from HTE and sausages. It looked to be a beautiful combination -- sausages and mash -- S&M; what did you think I meant, you perverts!??

Luckily for me, Tom also had a way of cooking up sausages in his Grills chapter!

93. Grilled Sausages - *Grills*

The sausages are simply the 'hot pan-hot oven' method. So, I seared some Italian sweet sausages (I was actually after some bratwurst but my communist-block Russian store didn't have any - they did have knackwurst though) on a hot unoiled pan.

Then, I put it in a preheated oven at its highest setting. I wasn't sure how long to leave them in there - see, Tom doesn't actually say. He did say that sausages are quite fatty so I should prick them, which I did, and that they benefit from this cooking method like chops, but no actual time was given. I looked at my Nigella books, and she shifts from 30 to 45 minutes. I kept an eye on the sausages and they took about 20 minutes to be the color I wanted and knew Rafa would like. He was the only one eating them because I have a horrible reaction to minced meat/sausage-type stuff.

While the sausages cooked I had the gravy already done but still simmering on the stove, and the potatoes for the mash were boiling. I added loads of butter and milk to the potatoes when they were done and what resulted was a beautiful creamy mash. I served up dinner to Rafa and myself - I had mash and leftover salad from yesterday, with the gravy of course. Here is Rafa's plate:
Rafa really enjoyed his meal, but only managed one sausage and some mash. It hardly happens, perhaps the culinary equivalent of a blue moon, but the man just wasn't hungry! Damn, the first time he really really liked something, and he wasn't bloody hungry! Well now I'm going to feed him veggies every day till he begs for some S&M! Hrmph!

1, 2, 3...

2006-06-25T13:38:00.000-04:00

Tom says in his Pasta chapter that Italians are not known for their heavy sauces when it comes to making and serving pasta. In fact, Italians don't do much to a pasta dish - letting each ingredient speak for itself. Tom says, 'We swamp our pasta dishes with sauce, whereas Italians use the sauce almost as a seasoning.'

I chose the simplest dish to illustrate how it doesn't take a lot to make a great dish. In fact it only takes three ingredients, not including the pasta: butter, parmesan and sage.

92. Pasta with Parmesan (sage variation) - *Pasta*

You may remember that I made the original Pasta with Parmesan in one of my very first CL recipes, and also included its tomato purée variation. This time, I would use just a few sage leaves for the dish.

For this recipe, I chose linguine instead of spaghetti as I thought it would do a better job at absorbing the sauce.

So I let the pasta cook in boiling salted water. Once it was done, I drained it and added some butter cubes (25g for one portion) and chopped sage leaves. I mixed it off the heat and let it sit for a few seconds before folding in the grated parmesan (also 25g).

And that's it!

Could it be any easier, or more delicious?

Despite the butter and cheese, it was actually a very light and fulfilling meal. I didn't even need to add salt or pepper and just enjoyed the sharpness of the parmesan against the mellow warmth of the butter and fragrant sage. I have to say sage is the most beautiful of all herbs - so velvety.

I often daydream of having a villa in rural Italy. Imagine being able to go out before the sun gets too hot, getting fresh butter, parmesan and sage. And then making this dish for lunch and eating it in a cool house with the shutters closed to block out the garish sun. Bliss!

WE HEART RISOTTO!

2006-06-25T08:57:00.000-04:00

Last night was a great entertaining night for us. I am not the type to entertain that often - something about the anxiety involving making a lot of food and satisfying guests. But my friend Elana came over to spend the day in Brooklyn (I shouldn't say more for fear that she will be an exiled Manhattanite!) and for us to make risotto together. I had only one risotto recipe left in Cupboard Love, so decided to go with that!

90. Dried Mushroom Risotto - *Risotto*
91. Courgette and Spinach Salad - *Pasta*

Even though risotto is said to be something that should be made for one person or two, I couldn't resist making it for a crowd because I know that I heart risotto, Elana hearts risotto, Rafa hearts risotto.... so risotto it was!

After going to the annual Mermaid Parade in Coney Island on a slightly drizzly Saturday afternoon (where we witnessed men and women in scantily clad costumes, most of the time with only some sea shells covering their bare essentials!), Elana and I headed off to see my sister. It was then that I learned that my sister was indeed going to join us for dinner with my brother-in-law, Roman, and my nephew, Liam, in tow... Ok, no probs. I was planning on making risotto for 4 but now would I have to make it for six?? My sister said she was bringing marinaded sole so I decided to stick with the 4 since I was making salad anyway.

After Elana and I got back to my apartment from hanging out a bit outside, we started cooking dinner. First, I soaked the porcini mushrooms in some hot water.
Tom calls for 50g for a portion of two; I was able to find the dried mushrooms for $3.99 for 13 grams at Dom's - so that would mean for a portion of two I would have to spend close to 16 bucks just for the mushrooms. Not happenin'! I'm sorry, I'm sure it would have been fab but there was no way I could justify it, especially since I would have had to spend $32 now that I planned on making a portion for 4! Since the mushroom stock would have had to come from the porcinis, I decided to make it up by using some porcini stock cubes I also got at Dom's.

While the mushrooms were soaking, we got on with the chopping for the ingredients in the risotto and salad. First we blanched some courgette (zucchini) slices in boiling salted water...

... and drained them and let them cool.

Then Elana chopped up the onions (good job, Elana!) while I got on with the garlic. She continued to chop up fresh mushrooms (I just got button mushrooms) and I cut up some sage leaves. We let all of those sweat away in a pan for a few minutes.

At around that time, the porcinis were done soaking. I drained them and reserved the liquid as stock. I added it to a simmering pan of water with a stock cube dissolving in it. For the porcinis, I just simply blitzed them until they were almost like a paste.

Then I added the rice, tomato purée, and some white wine to the onion mixture, and I let it bubble away for a little bit. Then, I lowered the heat and started to add stock. I was wow'ed by the color of the mixture and also how lovely it smelled in my apartment - onions, mushroom and sage!

The zucchini slices were dressed with balsamic vinegar, olive oil and salt once cool and put in the fridge. At the last moment, a handful of baby spinach was added to them, and the salad was complete!
The final ingredients for the risotto were being prepared like taking out the butter and grating some parmesan. This is 'proper' parmesan, as I ran out of poorman'sgrana. The education of Ilana is complete!

Once the risotto was the texture I wanted, I took it off the fire and quickly added the parmesan and some butter! I let it sit covered for just a few minutes. By then all the guests had arrived and we sat to eat fairly soon after the risotto was done! Perfect timing -- but a hell of a lot of risotto, this is a portion of 4?

To die-hard risotto fans like me, I see a big mound of risotto like this and just want to dive in, face first. I was not so sure of Roman and Liam's reaction. Roman tends to be a more, erm, discerning critic, and Liam is 16 months old. But both men loved it!! As did everyone else!!

The risotto was really perfect; my sister said it was better than risotto at the Risotteria on Bleecker Street. What?? A place that its prime menu item is risotto, and I have never heard of it??! What's this. I must go! Well I have never eaten there so cannot really compare theirs with mine, but it sounded like a pretty good compliment! The risotto was deep with the flavors of the mushrooms and sage. I'm sure it would have been even more fab with more porcinis but I think they still did their job!

My sister brought sole marinaded in mustard and soy. It was in the oven while we ate the risotto and salad (which was good, not unbelievable, but people seemed to like it), and then the fish was a perfect accompaniment to the other dishes. I hardly eat fish; correction: I don't eat fish, apart from sushi. So, I was quite excited to see a non-fishy pretty fish in front of me. And it was delicious too! Proud of my sister I am!

We ate and laughed and ran after my rambunctious nephew for a while.. a great evening indeed. And all the plates were licked clean - we only had a little risotto left which I put in a separate container for Liam's lunch the next day. Dinner was followed by the one-year old tiramisu. This tiramisu was given to my sister and Roman about a year ago, but not being huge tiramisu fans, they had it in the freezer -- for a year! But it was fabulous; actually it was the best tiramisu ever! Mmmmm!

After dinner we went to listen to Korean jazz! The music was OK but I was actually really entertained by the facial movements of the overenthusiastic keyboardist. Well, as long as the company was good, I wasn't complaining! And memories of a great evening had by all.. Now, all after me, We Heart Risotto!!

Think Pink

2006-06-22T19:04:00.000-04:00

I wanted a low-effort type of salad tonight as it is hella hot here and really craved something light. Well ya give a girl a food processor and it is amazing the things she comes up with!

I decided to make a sort of warm shrimp salad with a pungent homemade vinaigrette. The result was pink -- very pink.

The result of red onion, fresh oregano, garlic, olive oil and lemon juice -- plus an overzealous Pulse button pusher!

And the salad -- mixed mesclun leaves, shrimp, orange tomatoes, red onion slices.

I think I'll call it 'The Barbie Salad' -- and it was Malibu-tastic! Or I could be really embarrassing and say it's the 'Shrimp on the Barbie Salad' - HA!

Ok, seriously, it was pretty darn fantastic!!! We dipped our Sullivan St. sourdough into the extra sauce -- mmmmm! Pretty darn tasty, if I do say so myself.

Lunchhour

2006-06-22T13:55:00.000-04:00

Following my very happy trip to Dom's the other day, I have decided to venture out and not be one of those never-leaves-their-desk-in-the-height-of-summer type of person. But, I am also coming to the realization that I do not deserve to call myself a New Yorker, because all the hip and cool spots, I've never been, and usually, never heard of. I am fortunate to work really close to Soho, prime location for cute shops. A friend pointed out to me that there is a great little bakery in Soho. Much to my amusement, this little bakery is actually a hop, skip and a jump away from my office. Or rather, a 5-6 minute walk!

So I went there for lunch today; Sullivan Street Bakery!

I sat at the bench on the right, back against the glass-brick wall (yes I know there is a proper name for this, I just don't know it), enjoying the sunshine on a beautiful summer afternoon. Pizza patate in one hand and San Pellegrino Limonata in the other.

pictures courtesy of units.blogs.com

I felt like a student again, sitting in a piazza, with the only street food I could afford - thin crust pizza and a fizzy lemon drink. I'm so lucky and glad I live in this great city! I talk shit about it all the time, but it really is a wonderful place to be. It reminds me that although I'm a workhorse (at least some of the time) at day, I'm still a foodie by night... and the occasional lunchhour!

...and another thing!

2006-06-21T19:53:00.000-04:00

Just a small tidbit here about the lovely ice cream shake I had for dinner!

89. Marathon Shake - *Afters*

It don't look like much but it sure is yummy. Formula to yumminess = banana + chocolate ice cream + peanut butter + golden syrup (I used corn syrup) + milk + ice. Mmmmm!

Tom named this the Marathon Shake because it reminds him of the Marathon bars he used to eat as a kid -- before they were renamed, eh-hem, Snickers!

Bellisimo!

2006-06-21T19:48:00.000-04:00

Last night I successfully made pizza for myself and for hubby - but not at the same time. Rafa was working very late last night, so I made the 'pizza' for myself when I got home, and then made his later on.

87. French Bread Pizza - *Junk Food*
88. Fiorentina - *Junk Food*

My inspiration to make pizza was because I managed to get some fabulous Italian groceries at a shop near my job. In NYC, 'near' is a relative term. It was actually straight down Spring Street and into Little Italy; this is where I shopped at Dom's during my lunch hour.

I discovered Dom's just a few days ago when hanging out with my friend, Elana, in Little Italy and Soho. I needed a place to source some dried porcini mushrooms and porcini mushroom stock cubes. What I was so psyched to see was the same exact brand of peeled plum tomatoes that Tom uses in Cupboard Love. Here is La Bella San Marzano!

Notice the lovely plum tomatoes on her crown! Peeled plum tomatoes is not something I would make a fuss over, but I figured a relatively inexpensive thing like the canned tomatoes I could make an effort and find the 'real deal.' My verdict of these tomatoes is further on down!

I started the French Bread Pizza first. Tom mentions this is a type of 'seventies' dish as he remembers his mom making it for him. I also have a sort of childhood story related to this dish. I was 'bestest bestest friends' with a lovely girl named Nicole - I think we must have been 11 or 12. Anyway, she lived in Mill Basin, the 'Beverly Hills' of south Brooklyn! I was so impressed with her 'very typical' American family - they made Jello on Thanksgiving, and Nicole's mom would make her a home version of the frozen-food favorite, French Bread Pizza. The fact that her mom would do that for her daughter was so cool in my eyes. I would come home and instantly tell my mom how to make it -- a halved baguette simply spread with tomato sauce/pizza sauce and lots and lots of shredded mozzarella cheese (the yellow kind!), and then bunged into the oven until the cheese was brown and bubbly. This version tasted like heaven to me! I thought I was just the coolest to have junk food at home!

Tom's version differs slightly. First I cut a baguette lengthwise, and I scooped out the interior. I pulsed the bread pieces into rough crumbs using my gorgeous food processor....

Then I set those aside and got to chopping up the rest of the ingredients.

Mozzarella into cubes.

Tomatoes deseeded and chopped -- and return of the over-ripe tomatoes!

Prosciutto sliced into shreds.

Plus some grated pecorino and chopped oregano with the rest of the ingredients, and this was all mixed in with a beaten egg and the processed bread crumbs.

The hollowed out baguette was then filled with this mixture and baked. Mmmmm.

And pretty good it was! It was just a tad on the salty side. I think that was the combo of the ham and the pecorino. I think next time I would omit the ham altogether and maybe just add a few olives instead.

So onto Rafa's pizza! I had some thawed pizza dough that I made last time, and I decided on the Quicker Tomato Sauce, though mine should be the Quickest since I didn't bother to measure the ingredients or use the food processor. LOL. Basically, I took the San Marzano plum tomatoes I bought, and squished them in a colander. Let me tell ya, what a difference! The tomatoes I used in the past were tough and once squished the juices went everywhere. The San Marzanos were softer and easier to crush - just a more pleasant experience, and I felt good knowing that Tom used these tomatoes too! There's hope for me yet.

I mixed the tomatoes with some olive oil, balsamic vinegar and finely chopped garlic. That was the sauce done!

The toppings for the pizza just involved some light preparation - grated whole milk mozzarella (the white kind!), drained baby spinach leaves, garlic slices, a broken egg in the middle, and a sprinkling of pecorino and nutmeg!

I did a fabo job of rolling out the dough and got it to fit the entire pizza pan - finally! The pizza came out thin and crunchy - yum!

And Rafa liked it!

Monday Night Stir-Fry

2006-06-19T20:16:00.000-04:00

I'm seeing a bit of a pattern when it comes to my cooking. Monday nights are funny nights -- I'm obviously feeling guilty that I haven't caught up on the weekend but I am so into that Monday-feeling-sorry-for-myself feeling that I can't really think of cooking anything substantial. Also it's now 8pm and it's about 86º degrees here. I am not in the mood for anything too time-consuming. That just screams to me, 'stir-fry'!! (If you're curious, yes, I made a stir-fry last Monday night too!)

86. A basic vegetarian stir-fry (summer variation) - *Stir-Fries*

When Tom listed the Basic recipe he stated that it was sparse on purpose - so people are free to add and subtract ingredients as needed, and also to cook seasonally. The 'summer variation' includes courgettes (zucchini) and peppers. And this time, I remembered to get the red onion!

So all it entails is chopping up some zucchini, peppers, red onion, garlic and ginger pretty small. The onion goes first into a hot and oiled pan, then the garlic and ginger follow. The last additions are the peppers and zucchini slices. I let this cook slightly longer than Tom stipulates since they are harder vegetables, as compared to the broccoli and carrots of the Basic version.

The sauce goes in last (made of soy sauce, water, and honey) and let to cook for about thirty seconds. Easy peasy lemon squeasy! And so beautiful and fragrant too!
I even had time and energy to make a double-batch of Rafa's fave 'lemony cookies.' I didn't want to turn on the oven, but he asked nicely and cranked up the A/C.

Dinner and dessert without breakin' a sweat. ;)

Attack of the Over-ripe Tomatoes!

2006-06-17T08:49:00.000-04:00

I'm a gal that can't resist a bargain. I was telling you yesterday how the fabulous yellow/orange tomatoes I found at my local grocery store were only 99 cents a pound! Well yesterday, as I was mentally scanning the store's inventory once again, I found that the tomatoes have been reduced to 69 cents a pound!! Are you kidding me?! Well I have to admit that this was the last of them and they were going over to the state of mush and over-ripeness (sp?). A lady near me also saw the amazing price and quickly turned away from seeing their state. Well, I couldn't just leave them alone. So, I picked up just over a pound of gorgeously ripe and bright colored tomatoes! Thank goodness Tom had a recipe that would utilize these beauties in his Pasta chapter!

85. Chilli, Basil and Almond Sauce (Picci Pacci) - *Pasta*

Picci Pacci, Tom indicates, literally means 'this and that'; meaning the pasta had elements in the sauce that incorporated a few ingredients here and there. For this dish, the sauce would have tomatoes, an herb (Tom said I could use parsley instead of basil, and I did), chilli and almonds. Like the Quicker Tomato Sauce, this combo of ingredients did not need any cooking as such, but they do need to sit together for a while so that all the flavors could develop and mingle.

I first started the sauce for the pasta (Tom recommends spaghetti, but it is not mandatory) by crushing my glorious over-ripe tomatoes over a colander. Once I was happy with the pulp I got, I mixed it in a bowl with some chopped garlic, extra virgin olive oil, chilli flakes, chopped parsley, salt and red wine vinegar. I covered the bowl and let the sauce macerate for about two hours.

Then it was just a matter of toasting some almonds -- Tom says to use blanched almonds but I already had almond flakes lying around needing to get used, so I toasted them on a hot and dry frying pan. Once they were cool, I chopped them coarsely with my mezzaluna.

The last part of making the dish was to just simply boil some spaghetti, drain it, and mix it in with the sauce. The chopped almonds then went on top.

Isn't it just glorious?! It looks like a crown for a summer queen, if there ever was one, to symbolize the heat and beauty of summer! I just love the color of the orange tomatoes against the paleness of the almonds and the sharp green of the parsley! I think with a fabulous sauce such as this one, this could certainly turn into an impromptu pasta salad for a barbecue. And I'm not talking about ones that are coated in mayo and sweeter than grandma's peach cobbler! I mean a cold pasta, such as rotini, with a beautiful and sharp coating of sauce, such as this one! Here's another view:

I have to give a fair bit of warning, though I think this may fall on deaf ears, or rather, over-enthusiastic, spice-seeking, tongues. For two portions, the sauce must have 1/2 tsp of chilli flakes. I found this way too much for me. Not oppressingly so for me, as I was able to eat the dish and not experience the metal-tongue I usually do when eating extremely spicy things that kill all my tastebuds, but enough that in addition to it being about 100 degrees in my tiny apartment, I was sweating buckets! (And I even used 1/4 tsp!) So I think next time I will use only a pinch of the chilli flakes unless I need to get rid of a sinus cold or something!

Anyway, this is a great last-minute type of recipe to try; I actually was not planning on cooking at all last night, but once I bought the tomatoes I knew that I had all the ingredients I need!

The Untraditionalist

2006-06-16T09:24:00.000-04:00

Tom starts off the introduction to the Napoletana pizza recipe saying that it is a very traditional one. Ha! Well, leave it to me to screw with tradition! When do I ever seem to follow the rules in this project??!

83. Quicker Tomato Sauce - *Junk Food*
84. Napoletana - *Junk Food*

I was hesitant to dive into another pizza recipe following my previous debacle. Ironically, my pizza making in the past had been disaster-free. I think it is because I didn't heat my pans first, or would just make one large pie, albeit not exactly a thin-crust one!

In order to give myself more time and to not rush, I made the basic dough on Wednesday night, and the pizzas last night. The dough, as you may recall, is quite simple - I have to toot my own horn and say what a bad ass I am when it comes to making dough in my Kitchenaid. It has taken a lot of time and practice but I finally have all the techniques down resulting in perfect dough and no last minute running for more water or flour! I left the dough to rise in the fridge overnight, knowing that it will probably result in a crunchier pizza - fine by me!

So last night, I made the sauce and added the toppings for the final assembly job. The sauce, as its title implies, is mega-fast to make. But I am mega-slow, so for me, it was a Moderately Fast Tomato Sauce. :)

First I crushed some tomatoes in a colander. Tom indicates to use two cans of peeled whole plum tomatoes, or to use fresh, if I'm confident my tomatoes are ripe and delicious - oh boy, were they!!

Don't adjust your screens, yes those are orange tomatoes! This was my first summer seeing these tomatoes in Brooklyn. I'm sure they are all around greenmarkets in the 'city', but it was the first time seeing them at my local grocery store. Of course, how could I not pick them up?! Actually, I walk by the store every day mentally scanning its inventory - I was so delighted to see them this week, and for 99¢ a pound!

Now, back to the sauce, it was indeed 'quicker' than the Quick Tomato Sauce, in that no cooking was involved. I squished the tomatoes, getting rid of extra moisture. This tip came from the man himself in an email to me. I had asked Tom about his expertise in making sauce out of fresh tomatoes, and he said:

Whenever I use fresh for sauces I deseed but often don't peel them. You could do both, but needn't bother with either if the tomatoes are on the small side. It's the runny juices in the cavity rather than seeds or skin that can make the sauce watery that bother me!

I managed to squish the tomatoes as much as possible to get rid of any juices, and what I got was a wonderful orange pulp! Beautiful!

In a separate bowl, I squished some garlic with salt and added it to some light olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Then I pureed the entire thing in my new Kitchenaid (cobalt blue, natch!) food processor. It's only a 3 cup one - many of my friends will know that I am saving myself for the 12 cup when I buy a house! But this one was purchased to replace my $9.99 one, that I had purchased at Rite Aid, no less! Ain't my new boyfriend a beauty?!

And there you go, the Quicker Tomato Sauce. I loved the technique of using non-cooked tomatoes and just mixing it up with salt, oil and vinegar, and garlic. That's really all a sauce needs, in my opinion. It reminds me of the fabulous fresh sauces on the brick-oven pizzas served here, like in Patsy's or Lombardi's. Fantastic!

Then came time to take out the dough and start a-rolling! Last time, I had a few problems, to say the least. This time I was more organized, took out two pizza pans, and chucked half of the dough into the freezer for next time.

It was a bitch to roll out, I'll admit, but I know that is because it was losing its chill from the fridge and did not lend itself too much, but after some elbow grease I managed, erm, sort of 24cm circles. Well, close.

As you could see from the top, I topped the pizza Napoletana-style (sort of!) with mozzarella, oregano, and dry and wrinkly black olives. This is where I went untraditional. First, I used orange tomatoes for the sauce. Then, I completely ignored Tom's suggestion to use anchovies and capers. I hate the former, and Rafa hates the latter. We're fussy! No wonder we have no friends! Ha! He said that mozzarella is not traditional, but nevertheless yummy, so I decided to go with the yumminess factor and included it! Tom also mentioned to add the oregano or basil after cooking, but I knew I'd forget that way, so added it with the other toppings. I must say, the pizza did not suffer - in fact, it was fantastic!

I was happy that the pizza did not get too puffy and maintained a certain air of crispiness and thin-ness. The toppings worked so well and the entire apartment smelled of garlic due to the fantastic sauce! I didn't bother heating the baking pans first, but I don't think my pizza was gravely affected because of that. Here's a virtual slice for hungry readers!

Mmmmmm! Pizza! A friend said I had some balls to attempt to make a pizza to rival the great pizzerias around me -- well I have to admit, it's not exactly Trio, but not too shabby either!

Check in your knives at the door!

2006-06-12T20:07:00.000-04:00

Now I'm back in familiar territory - vegetables! It's been a while since I checked out the Stir-Fries chapter!

81. The No-Knife Stir Fry - *Stir-Fries*
82. Chocolate and Banana Shake - *Afters*

Tom is true to his word about the stir-fry ; there is indeed no chopping at all! It consists of oyster mushrooms, bean sprouts and mangetouts (snow peas). All of these items were purchased when I got home from work.

The preparation for the stir-fry sauce was equally simple; I grated some ginger, garlic, and lime zest into a bowl. To this I added lime juice, honey, and soy sauce.

The stir-fry itself took minutes. First I heated some light olive oil until my pan was smoky, and I started frying the oyster mushrooms, that were just torn into smaller slices. They fried for a couple of minutes, and then I added the mangetouts, followed by the bean sprouts. The sauce was added last, and that's it! The rice was ready on the next hob, so dinner was promptly served!

This was really wonderful! I particularly liked the tang of the lime in the sauce and also the oyster mushrooms. It was the first time cooking or eating with them and I was happily surprised! Mmmmm!

For dessert, I decided to just make a quick shake of chocolate ice cream, bananas, and milk! Delicious!!!

The shake could have been a tad sweeter - it's due to the bananas not being ripe enough. I'm an impatient gal!!

So now that I have had my veggies and fruits, I could afford to have a brownie or four, right?!

The Reluctant Non-Vegetarian

2006-06-11T20:31:00.000-04:00

Perhaps I'm a closeted vegetarian, because whenever I think of planning a meal that involves meat of some kind I really wish I was doing something else, like shopping! Meat doesn't excite me; there I said it! But even though CL is not exclusively meat, meat, and more meat, (actually it's very veggie-friendly!) there are still lots of meat recipes to get through, especially in the Grills chapter.

79. Grilled Steaks - Grills
80. Braised Peas in Red Wine and Sage - Grills

Beef! The foundation of the American family -- and it couldn't be more stressful to me! For weeks I have been doing my pseudo-research on the type of steak cut to buy. I watched an episode of Test Kitchen where the editor of Cook's Illustrated (I call him funny, bow-tie man) described the best cheap cuts from a cow. I couldn't for the life of me remember what they were -- something like sirloin and butt, huh? So I also consulted my friend, Lisa, on Friday, the day I was to buy the steaks. She said her favorite was rib-eye. I went to a Chinese supermarket near where I live after work on Friday and none of the cuts looked familiar, and I really had no idea which would be good for grilling. I even asked the nice Chinese man behind the counter which would be good for frying or grilling (I simulated grilling action by flicking my wrists). He just smiled and shook his head. Ok -- so no steaks Friday night. I texted Lisa:

Me: So no steak tonight too fucking complicated
She: Get a ribeye

I had then remembered that I did see ribeye at the store -- but I was already walking home and thinking of a cunning plan of convincing hubby we were going to eat out that night - sushi!

It turned out that convincing Rafa was not that difficult - that man will say yes to anything involving the prospect of consuming beer! And I had decided I could always go back to the store on Saturday, which is what I did!

I bought two ribeye steaks - for a total of about $11 - ouch! I also got some frozen peas for the second dish.

Both were incredibly simple to make.

First, I started the peas. Since the peas were to be braised in red wine, Tom kindly requested (he did say please!) to not use plonk. Ladies and gents, non-plonky wine at your service:

If you're straining your eyes it's a Californian cabernet sauvignon - no idea what that means but I wasn't going to drink the puppy. The fact that it didn't say Goya on it meant it wasn't plonk!

Now back to the peas, I sweated some onions, garlic and sage (had to use dry as my store was out of fresh - typical!) with a little bit of salt. To this I added the red wine, which I let simmer for a little bit, and then I finally added the frozen (but thawed) peas. This was allowed to simmer in the sauce for about twenty minutes.

I got started on the steak close to the end of the peas' cooking time.

For well-done steak, which is how Rafa likes it, all you need to do is sear an oiled steak on one side in a hot and dry frying pan, and then season the steak before putting it into a hot oven. I really didn't care how well cooked my steak was since I kinda guessed I wouldn't enjoy it anyway. I used the poking test for doneness, and then let the steak rest for a few.

The steak was OK; nothing spectacular. Perhaps a better quality meat not cooked as much would have tickled my fancy, but really nothing to write home about. The peas did not impress either...

I could understand how they would have tasted horrible with plonk, but even with the non-plonk they were not that exciting either. Hmmmn, thank god for chocolate!

I had made these earlier in the day; they are from the Moosewood Low-Fat Cookbook. Not sure if I actually had a low-fat experience out of it since I gobbled up those three, plus five of their brothers shortly afterwards. A closeted-vegetarian surely needs his/her kicks from somewhere!

The night of fun did not end there!!! There was zilcherama on TV last night; Rafa and I stared at each other for a little bit - that got old very fast! So, we decided to play a one-on-one game of Pictionary. In case you're wondering if that is a euphemism for fornication, let me assure you it is certainly not! One-on-one is sort of ridiculous because the game ends in about 15 minutes and we can't exactly figure out who gets the points - plus we didn't have a rules manual, whoops!

Here is the finale to our intense game - Rafa at the board:

That's his drawing for 'warpaint', people - yah, I know, it baffled me too! Ten points to the person who can figure out which one of the above is Iraq!