Strong Flavors

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!

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

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

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!

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!!!

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

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

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...

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!

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

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

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!

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!

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

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. ;)