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Gluten Free Cheesecake

Jeanine
Sunday, February 7, 2010

I finished Ruth Reichl’s Garlic and Sapphires:The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise about a month ago on a ridiculously long Amtrak train ride from Orlando to New York. I thoroughly enjoyed the great length that Ruth went to keep herself disguised as she went to review all the restaurants she mentioned in the book. She was so vivid and descriptive of her journey I felt like I was a guest dining at her table. She made things I didn’t think I would ever attempt to eat sound so delicious.
I made Ruth’s New York Cheesecake about 2 weeks ago. It’s the first recipe in the book and I feel in love with it from the start. I wanted to make this cheesecake special for Shaun so I made it Gluten Free. One of Shaun’s favorite desserts is cheesecake. He hasn’t had cheesecake since being diagnosed with celiac disease. It’s not something I can easily go into a supermarket or a bake shop and get for him. I think the best way to describe the taste of most pre-packaged gluten free desserts is “funk”. Yes they taste like funk, that is until I found cookies by Aleia’s Gluten Free Foods © http://www.aleias.com. I was lucky enough to find the Gluten Free Ginger Snap Cookies for the crust at the Whole Foods near my work. I used that for the crust since they taste amazing and was unable to find gluten free graham crackers. These cookies made such a tasty and awesome crust. Honestly, if no one knew the cheesecake was gluten free I don’t think they would have been able to tell the difference. Shaun loved the cake so much I was asked to make it again this weekend! It came out great. This time I used a spring-form pan. I went and bought the pan special for this. I am really not a fan of this kind of pan. I guess with practice I will get accustomed to using it. The first time I made the cake I used a 9-inch silicone pan. I really don’t think I could bake without silicone. As I get the hang of this whole cooking and baking “thing” I am beginning to realize there are so many awesome recipes I can alter to be gluten free. Sky is the limit!

New York Cheesecake
1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs (about 6 ounces)
1 cup sugar
½ cup melted unsalted butter
1 ½ pounds cream cheese, preferable without gum, at room temperature
4 eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla
Grated zest of one lemon
2 cups sour cream
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix the graham crackers with ¼ cup of sugar and, melted butter and press into bottom and sides of a 9-inch ungreased spring-form pan. Chill while preparing filling.
Beat the cream cheese, ½ cup sugar, eggs, 2 teaspoons of the vanilla, and lemon zest until smooth. Pour into chilled crust and bake 50 minutes to an hour, or until the cheese is set and starting to turn golden in spots. Remove the oven (leave oven on) and cool for about 15 minutes until glossy and set.
Cool completely, cover, and chill at least 8 hours.
Serves 8

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Unsnobby Risotto Primavera

Brianne
Thursday, January 28, 2010

Hello!!! See? I swear I’m alive. I’ve been slightly bogged down since the new year… Birthday, birthday, sick, sick, sick, school, and some other crap thrown in there. Long story, but we’re finally back on track now (I think!). I’m full-time this semester with 5 classes (because apparently that was an AWESOME idea), so it’s taken some adjusting. We’re working on it.

So, let’s see. This is my first post on Garlic & Sapphires. I am really enjoying the book so far. I got really into it quite early and blew through the first 100 pages or so. It’s been sitting on my nightstand waiting to be read for the last week and a half though, not gonna lie (did you see the part about 5 classes? Yeah.). So I’m hoping to get through some more of it sooner rather than later, because I’m really enjoying it. It’s definitely quite different from our last book, but interesting and a completely different point of view.

So the first recipe I came across was Ruth’s cheesecake. Well, no offense to Ruth, but sorry. My cheesecake is awesome. It’s the only one my husband will eat, and I’m not about to mess with what he calls perfection. So that recipe was out, immediately. I kept reading and came across something I’ve been dying to make… risotto. A little backstory on this part of the book- Ruth decided she was going to review Le Cirque restaurant. She went in complete disguise, as the “unknown diner.” The treatment she received from a supposed 4 star restaurant was appalling. Servers were rude, inconsiderate, and treated her like she didn’t exist. And her food was pretty crappy, from the sound of it. Not something I’d want if I was spending $40 on a plate of risotto. She returned later as herself, no disguise, and in a packed restaurant with people waiting forever, she was greeted by the owner, “The King of Spain is waiting at the bar, but your table is ready.” Well, needless to say, this visit was all bells and whistles and the finest of everything. She still took a star away. Good for her. She took a lot of shit for that review and taking away that star, but I love a woman who doesn’t give a shit and tells it like it is.

Anyway, so she talked about her adaptation of Le Cirque’s Lobster Risotto. She mentioned being a lobster snob (as am I) and refusing to do lobster at home where so much of the lobster would go to waste. Now, she also “demands” that you use homemade chicken stock. Well, sorry lady, but a 2 year old does not allow for that kind of time or energy. I bought chicken stock. It tasted fine. If you have the time, go for it. If I had some more time, I might try to do that next time, but for the first attempt, I was happy. She also replaced the rosemary in the dish with saffron. I used rosemary. I had it at home, and it was yummy.

But, for my first attempt, I was pleasantly surprised. I made it last night for dinner, with some shrimp that was sauteed in garlic and olive oil. It was really delicious. Madeline loved it, so that was a plus in my book. Brett ate his reheated and he said it was awesome. Thumbs up for me… he’s my own food critic, and can be a pretty snobby one. I attribute that to the amazing palette he has – he can taste such subtle differences that it’s a pretty awesome gauge when I make a flawless dish. So, here you go -

Risotto Primavera

You need:
1/2 pound asparagus
5-6 cups homemade chicken stock*
1/2 teaspoon saffron strands, crumbled**
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium red onion, diced
1 smallish carrot, diced
2 small zucchini, diced
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup thawed frozen peas
1/2 cup Parmigiano cheese, plus extra for table
salt and pepper to taste

Then you should:
Cut the tips off the asparagus and set them aside. Dice the top half of the stalks (discard the rest) and set the diced asparagus aside.
Bring the stock to a steady simmer in a saucepan. Remove 1/4 cup, add saffron (*I used rosemary, which is fine) and set aside.
Melt 2 tablespoons of butter with the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add the onion and cook for about 6 minutes, until it’s golden.
Add the carrot and cook for about 5 more minutes, followed by zucchini, diced asparagus and 1/2 tsp salt and cook for 5 minutes more.
Add the rice and stir until it’s completely coated with the oil. Add the wine and cook, stirring until it has evaporated, about 3 minutes. Now slowly add simmering stock to cover the rice and cook, stirring, until it’s evaporated. Repeat this, adding, stirring, evaporating, for about 20 minutes. Then add asparagus tips, peas (I didn’t use them), and the saffron (rosemary) stock and cook for another 5-10 minutes, until the rice is soft on the outside and still has a bit of a bite at the center. Add a few more spoonfuls of stock, remove pan from heat, and add the remaining 1 tsp of butter and the cheese.

Serves 4.

Ok, so I didn’t use the peas. Honestly, I forgot they were in the recipe when I was food shopping. Oh well. Like I said, I used rosemary instead of saffron and I used store-bought stock. It was delicious. It was a great consistency and I plan on warming some up for lunch today. It would serve 4 people as a big side dish, kind of like an appetizer size of meal. Brett and I had hearty portions with our shrimp, and Madeline had a mini bit of it. I have enough left for probably 2 sides for us for dinner tonight, if you want to gauge it that way.

So, I hope it’s less than a few weeks until I’m back with more from the book. Fingers crossed!! Happy cooking!

Filed in Brianne, Cooking, Dinner, Meal, Restaurant, Savory, Stove-top, Vegetables | Comments (2)

Betty meet Emily

Gina
Monday, January 18, 2010

Happy New Year Everyone! I hope you are all recovering from the holidays and working on those New Years Resolutions. It is such a fresh feeling time of the year that often makes me pause to think about life, love and the pursuit of happiness (or where I am doing shitty and how to improve). I am excited to start off this year as a CTB girl and am even more excited to begin the year with Ruth Reichl’s Garlic & Sapphires. This book is way more food focused than story focused (compared to our beloved Giulia)  but  in general Ruth is a Food Critic for the NY Times, In order to keep her anonymity she uses different characters and disguises to critic each restaurant.

I was amused by this concept but I am not going to lie, I wasn’t in love with the book for the first few characters. Ruth is an AWESOME food writer. The woman can make frog legs and Sea Urchins sound absolutely delicious, however I just prefer my novels with a wee bit more plot (i.e. romance, sex, and a murder every now and then). So I was breezing along and then I met Ruth’s Character, Betty. Betty is an older plump woman who is essentially invisible to everyone that she comes across. She does little to take care of herself and you kind of get the feeling she’s like a cat lady. It reminded me of myself at various points in my life. I found my heart move a little slower and I felt sad as I thought about individuals around the world that are so often unseen and then I thought of myself. A few years ago I gained a ton of weight…directly after a wonderful bout with an eating disorder. I essentially went from skinny to fat in less than a year. What amazed me bout this time, was that in both bodies, I was completely and totally like Betty. It was easy to hide behind. I like to think it is all behind me, but as Ruth realized in putting on a costume, these characters stay inside of us, waiting for their time in the light, or just slowly dancing with each other as we go through life. I was pondering this and turning the pages quickly when I met Emily. Emily is essentially a bitch. There are no two ways around it. She is the girl we all hate. She is the girl that I hate. Ruth easily fit into this role so well that it scared her and to be honest it scared me. Emily was the opposite of Betty, and I did not like her at all. Yet, I realized, she is somewhere in me too. There are more than a few occasions I can think of where I have been too short, too rude, too emotionally turned off to realize the Betty’s of the world. And I did not like it one bit.

Each of these women met at a particularly interesting time during the month too. I was pondering my place of work, my place in my work, and my place in the world in general. Needless to say it was all a bit overwhelming. So I turned to the most obvious coping skill I could manage…I went on a diet. Vegan to be precise. It is always so much easier to cut out sugar, or fat, or meat than it is to really look at your life. As I read through these characters that Ruth was playing, especially Betty and Emily I decided to throw my hand in the air, leave it to She-Gods that are out there, and just have a little faith. In doing so I think I allowed some of my many characters to come together and somewhat integrate into themselves. As a symbol of my appreciation for Betty and Emily and Fat me Skinny me and Totally Clueless about life Me…I made dinner. Roast Chicken with roasted vegetables for Betty (a la Ruth), Arugula with White Beans (for skinny bitches everywhere) and then some “Vanilla Cake”…kind of healthy for Betty and Emily. I forgot to take pics of the chicken but here are some pics of the Invisible me’s and the Vanilla Cake!

“Nicky’s Vanilla Cake” Below is the original recipe. I actually don’t care for cake too much, and (Marilla Cover your ears)…I dont really like cupcakes to omuch either…not that I dislike them, I just prefer the denseness of cookies and brownies. But I really wanted to make something from Ruth’s book so I thought I would make this cupcake style. I should definately keep my day job but they tasted great! I put my changes in ().
• 1 cup (250mL) unsalted butter (I used Earth Balance Vegan, the dough was a bit curdled looking but it came together once I added the flour)
• 1 cup (250mL) sugar (3/4 C. Agave Negtar)
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups (500mL) all-purpose flour (I used 1 C. self rising and I sifted both of these)
• 2 tsp (10mL) baking powder
• 1 tsp (5mL) baking soda
• 1 tsp (5mL) salt
• 1 cup (250mL) sour cream (low fat)
• 2 tbsp (25mL) pure vanilla
1. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, blending well after each addition.
2. Mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to butter mixture until combined. Add sour cream. Add vanilla. The batter will be thick.
3. Spoon batter into a buttered and floured bundt pan or angel food cake pan.
4. Bake in a preheated 350F (180C) oven for 40 to 50 minutes or until golden and a cake tester comes out dry. Cool cake in pan on a wire rack for 5 to 10 minutes. Turn cake out of pan and cool completely on rack. Makes one tube cake

Roast Chicken with Potatoes, Onions, and Garlic
Serves 4

1 farm-raised chicken, about 3 1/2 pounds
1 lemon
Olive oil
3 to 4 small Yukon Gold potatoes (or any other variety except russet), each peeled and cut into 8 pieces
1 large onion, cut into 6 pieces
3 to 4 cloves garlic, unpeeled
Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Wash the chicken under running water and pat it dry. Remove and reserve the extra fat from the inside of the chicken. Very gently run your fingers between the breast and the skin, beginning from the neck end, loosening the skin from the breast on both sides. Being careful not to puncture the skin, place the excess fat beneath the skin (the chicken will then baste itself).

Puncture the lemon a few times with a fork, and place it inside the chicken.

Pour enough olive oil into a roasting pan to make a thin film over the bottom. Toss the potatoes, onion, and garlic into the pan and turn until they are covered with olive oil.

Pour a little olive oil over the chicken, and salt and pepper everything in the pan.

Roast for about 1 hour, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into a thigh reads 170 degrees F. Remove the pan from the oven and let the chicken rest for 10 minutes.

Carve the chicken into serving pieces, surround them with the potatoes, onions, and garlic, and squeeze the lemon over the top.

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A Wee bit too skinny Me
A Wee bit too skinny Me
Me and My Sister a Few Years Back
Me and My Sister a Few Years Back
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Yowza…Gnocchi!!!

Jeanine
Saturday, January 9, 2010

YOWZA!

I have one word to describe my attempt at making gnocchi…”YOWZA!!” To say it was a disaster is an understatement. I believe the picture of my gnocchi speaks for itself. I knew going into this that this recipe was not going to be easy at all for a novice cook. But I figured what do I have to lose!

No- Nookie Gnocchi

  • 2 russet potatoes
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • pinch freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1 heaping cup flour, plus more for dusting
  • salt
  • freshly grated pepper
  • freshly grated parmigiano

Put the potatoes in a pot with enough water to cover, bring to a boil, and cook, partially covered, until they are just tender, about 35-40 minutes. Remove the potatoes to a cutting board and peel with a paring knife as soon as you can stand to touch them, then run them through a potato ricer or food mill, spreading them out on a cutting board to cool completely.

Mix the egg, salt and nutmeg. Form the cooled potatoes into a mound and pour the egg mixture into it. Begin kneading the potato and egg mixture with your hands, adding the flour a little at a time, being careful not to overwork the dough.

When the flour is evenly combined with the potato and the dough is only a little sticky, divide it into 4 pieces.Roll each piece into a long, narrow tube like a garden snake and slice it crosswise into little soft pillows, each ½ inch wide. Rest each pillow on the tip of your thumb and impress it with the tines of a fork lightly dusted with flour, creating a ribbed surface for the sauce to cling to. Keep a bowl of flour nearby to dip the fork into, as it will become tacky- or better yet, keep some extra forks nearby.

Add the gnocchi about 10 at a time to a pot of salted boiling water. When they rise to the top, they’re done. Remove them to a serving bowl with a slotted spoon or spider and continue to cook in batches. Toss with the sauce and serve with grated parmigiano and freshly grated pepper.

Yield: about 6 dozen.

I am bummed but I am not going to dwell on a cooking failure when I am excited to start our next book!!

 I‘d like to leave off on a brighter note and share the gigantic gingerbread house I saw in Walt Disney World. My family and I spent Christmas and New Year’s there. The gingerbread house was located inside of Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. In case you are wondering that entire house is edible! It is made with 800 pounds of flour, 600 pounds of sugar and 1,050 pounds of honey.

Gingerbread House @ Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa

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Happy January!

Brianne
Saturday, January 2, 2010

Happy 2010 to everyone! For those who have been following us, fear not – we will be back soon with our postings on Garlic & Sapphires. Stay tuned for more bookery cookery in the coming weeks! Stay warm and safe!

Filed in Brianne, Miscellaneous, Quick, Random | Comments (0)

Happy Gnocchi New Year!

Gina
Sunday, December 27, 2009

Hello Everyone! I hope this new post finds you all well,after enjoying your holiday (or surviving it) and looking forward to a kick A$$ New Year! I haven’t written in awhile and I just want to send a special Thank You to each of these CTB girls. The few weeks leading up to the holidays were especially challenging this year, and to be honest I kind of fell off the face of the universe. I haven’t even sent out Holiday Cards (yet). I know we are all very busy and it is no excuse, but with everything so hectic it was so nice to check in and see this awesome blog take on a life of its own. It has been wonderful to know that each of these girls and I were somehow connected through the literary or the culinary, even if I couldn’t be as present as I would have liked. I look forward to beginning a New Year, a New Book and continuing our New friendship in the coming months.

That being said…New Years are all about resolutions aren’t they? The past few years my resolutions have been pretty consistent (keep in touch with people more, lose a few pounds…the usual). But I recently read somewhere of a girl who made a list of all of the things that scared her, and vowed to do at least 5 by the year’s end. I loved it! I mean, I know I have a lot of things to improve, but will I really be all that better off next year with a few pounds off my buttox…I think not! So, I have begun my own list, number 12 on that list is “make homemade pasta”, with number 13 a close second.. “make home made gnocchi”. We had all agreed to make Giulia Melucci’s No Nookie Gnocchi, so I figured there would be no getting out of it. With the whirlwind of these past few weeks I will be honest, I did try and think of a few ways to get out of this endeavor but after feeling a bit rested (thanks to my cousin doing the holiday this year) I decided to take it on for my families Sunday Pasta.

Prior to making Giulia’s Gnocchi and reading Marilla and Brianne’s posts I searched high and low for some gnocchi recipes and with the help of Giulia, Silver Spoon, and Alessio Pesucci http://italianfood.about.com/od/gnocchi/r/blr1805.htm I came up with somewhat of a different concoction. My favorite Gnocchi is made at Cannanau in NYC, it is this awesome light airy gnocchi in a fabulous white truffle cream sauce. I don’t particularly care for tomato sauce (I know, I know, I am Italian how can I say that, but c’mon Tomatoes versus cream and butter….helllloooooo!) So I wanted to try and re-create a similar dish. Here is how it went…

Matt and I went to Stop N Shop in search of “russett potatoes”, which they did not have. Personally, I dont see the difference between these and baking, but I didn’t want to regret the russett, so we searched a bit more until I wound up with a 5 pound bag of russet potatoes (lets just say we will be eating a lot o’ potatoes in my house this month). Then I went in search of something with “white truffle”. We had to go to the mall anyway, so I thought Williams and Sonoma would be a great place to start. It was, they had truffle butter and truffle oil…but each was more than 30 bucks, which, Im sorry gnocchi, but that is steep. I definately weighed the option of “do I need this versus do I want this” way longer than I should have, but I opted out. As we were driving home and I was trying to figure out how to mimick the taste of white truffle, Matt figured we could check out Wild by Nature and low and behold they had white truffle olive oil for 7.99! Score! So with ingredients in hand, four cookbooks spread out and my lap top with epicurious and food network on call, Matt and I went to it. Marilla and Brianne posted Giulia’s Gnocchi already so I wont repost that…this is what I eventually wound up with…

for the gnocchi

4 potatoes (I actually started with 5 potatoes, but i dropped 1 1/2 on the floor…abby got to it before I could try and salvage!)

1 1/2 C. flour (plus more as needed)

1 egg

2 shakes nutmeg

1 pinch salt

Boil the potatoes until fork pierces with a knife (about 30 minutes), remove from water and allow to cool (I did not do this), peel the potatoes and pass through a food mill (again, I didnt have a food mill and I read that the small part of the cheese grater would work, but I got fustrated and went strait for the fodd processor, pulsing a few times)

spread the potatoe out, and mix in flour and egg, kneading gently until blended and not sticky (add flour as needed). cut dough into fourths and roll each piece into a long rope. cut the rope into one each pieces. gently press fork into gnocchi and place on baking sheet. Boil and salt 5 quarts water. Add the gnocchi to boiling water at about 10 at a time, when they float to the top remove to a collander. repeat until all gnocchi are cooked. toss with sauce.

Creamy Truffle sauce with shallots and Tomato (this I totally made up as I went along, so some of the measurements are approximate)

4 Tbs. butter

3 Tbs. Olive oil (I actually used 1/3 Cup but the sauce was a bit oily)

3 garlic cloves, sliced

1 shallot, diced

4 tomatoes, cored and diced

2 Cups of heavy whipping cream, plus extra as needed

1/2 C. locatelli cheese (or parmesan)

“olive oil infused with white truffle” (2 tsp plus more as needed)

4 sage leaves

salt

pepper

Heat 2 Tbs. of butter and 3 Tbs. olive oil in large sauce pan over med-high heat. when bubbly add sage leaves and garlic. allow to brown and remove (save for later). Add shallots and simmer for 1-2 minutes. add diced tomatoes, salt and pepper and allow to simmer for 2 minutes. add two cups of cream and locatelli cheese, return sage and garlic and bring to a boil. In the meantime mix truffle oil with last two tbs. butter until smooth. once sauce boils, return to a simmer. add gnocchi. simmer for 5 minutes. check for consistency, add cream if needed (i added about 1/8 cup extra). add butter and truffle oil mix and stir in. I felt it needed more truffil oil so I drizzled some in at this point. allow to simmer a few more minutes. turn off heat and let sit for 5 minutes (uncovered) before serving.

I am not gonna lie…this was AWESOME. For several reasons…I actually mastered making gnocchi…until you have handled a hot potatoe and manipulted them into deliciously puffy little gnocchi you cannot understand the joy this brings! I couldn’t believe I really did it! Second, I attempted my own little sauce recipe and it was actually really good. My brother said it was “restaurant quality”, and I agreed with him! and 3) Matt and I actually did a lot of this together, and it was great to share something I love with him. He made broccoli raab to go as a side (which was also awesome). The two of us claimed our places in the kitchen and just had a great time trying to make something good happen. It was so relaxing having him there, I didnt even freak out  (that much) when I dropped a potato and a half!

This was a great way to end out very first book, I loved, I lost, I made Spaghetti. I (again) thank each of these CTB girls, and Giulia for being such an incredibly supportive first author. I also felt like we would be friends if we knew each other, but I am grateful to the new friends she has helped bring into my life.  She will always have a very special spot in the hearts of the CTB group as well as in my kitchen. I also thank Matthew for being so supportive of this process. There is nothing better than dropping  potatoes on the floor and having the man you love say “its okay, you can use it, Ill eat it anyway”…if that ain’t love I dont what is. I am very much looking forward to starting the new year with “Garlic and Sapphires” and I cannot wait to see what is down the road for Cooking the Books!

In the mean time…I better finish that New Years List….where is my left over gnocchi?

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Cooking Sluts and Gnocchi

Brianne
Saturday, December 26, 2009

Well hello again! It has been quite the whirlwind of a week here in PA as we prepared (and overprepared) for the holiday. I have spent most of the week as, you guessed it, a cooking slut. I have made baklava, cookies, brownies, cupcakes, dips, sides, sauce(s), and most importantly, gnocchi. For more about cooking sluts, please pick up a copy of Giulia’s book, as Marilla noted, you will only understand the full meaning of No-nookie gnocchi and cooking sluts if you do (and the book is awesome).

I was slightly disappointed come Christmas Eve. More in myself than anything. You see, I had spent all day attempting to cook with quite an eager, overtired toddler underfoot. While she was able to help with most of the desserts I was making (and the baklava was put together during naptime), I was not ready for her to cover her hands in pasta dough and run all over the house I had spent all week cleaning. Silly me did not read about the fact that I needed a potato ricer and/or food mill until the potatoes were boiling in the pot. Strike one. As we speak, Amazon is running a search for one/both of those so I can try again, as gnocchi is my dad’s absolute favorite food. I was really rushed making it as well, as it was getting late and I had hungry people waiting to be fed. Giulia’s sauce was really delicious, I thought, but my husband (sorry G!) still seems to prefer my own sauce (which is my grandmother’s recipe). My gnocchi was a little lumpy since I tried my best without a food mill. I was more disappointed in myself. I had been looking forward to making that recipe since finding it in the book, and everything else I made that day came out absolutely perfect, except the one I really wanted! So, live and learn. The consistency was right, but they were just a tad lumpy. I hope that next time (and I will definitely blog about it!) it comes out better.

As we say farewell to I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti, I feel very bittersweet. Partially because it was our first book, but I really felt myself understanding Giulia and where she came from, and I loved her story and her wonderfully positive take on everything. I feel like had we grown up closer to each other (Not like Nassau County and Brooklyn are terribly far away, but you get the point), I like to think we would have been friends. She had posted about this blog on her own twitter page (If you’re a fan of the book, or of her, follow her at @gmelucci) and on her own facebook page as well. There seems to be an unspoken camraderie of us Catholic School girls – kind of like the unspoken trials and tribulations of making it through years with those nuns. She is a fan of us, which makes this first book even more special – the fact that we were embraced so greatly by its author. I can only hope the future authors we read (and cook) enjoy our blog half as much as she has. So, thank you Giulia, for making our first couple of months with this blog SO worthwhile :)

I hope everyone had a happy and safe holiday and enjoyed your time with your families and loved ones. We sure did!

Filed in Books, Brianne, Cooking, Holiday, Meal, Musings, Pasta | Comments (3)

On the twelfth day of Christmas I made.. gnocchi!

Marilla
Saturday, December 26, 2009

I’ll start this off by saying I’m sure you all had a lovely Christmas, I definitely did- filled with food & family, and gifts of course. But you’re here to read about the food part of that equation, and so I won’t keep you waiting…

My attempt to make Giulia’s gnocchi was to take place on Christmas Day. I planned on making the gnocchi and the sauce, as well as roast a chicken (a very simple roast chicken, like the one a la Giulia I made a while back). And my attempt was very successful. Not perfect, but very close, and successful.

Gnocchi, if you’re uninitiated to the wonders of it, is pronounced “nioki”, the ‘g’ is silent. And people who pronounce it never fail to crack me up… “I’ll have the guh-notch-y…” Here’s some interesting background on it from Wikipedia:

The word gnocchi means “lumps”, and may derive from nocchio, a knot in the wood, or from nocca (knuckle). It has been a traditional Italian pasta type of probably Middle Eastern origin since Roman times. It was introduced by the Roman Legions during the enormous expansion of the empire into the countries of the European continent. In the past 2000 years each country developed its own specific type of small dumplings, with the ancient Gnocchi as their common ancestor. In Roman times, gnocchi were made from a semolina porridge-like dough mixed with eggs, and are still found in similar forms today, particularly in Sardinia (where they do not contain egg, however, and are known as malloreddus). One variety, gnocchi di pane (literally bread noodles), is made from bread crumbs and is popular in Friuli and Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. Another variety from Trentino-Alto Adige/Sudtirol is spinach gnocchi, called strangolapreti. This translates to “choke the priest.” The use of potato is a relatively recent innovation, occurring after the introduction of the potato to Europe in the 16th century.

I love potato gnocchi, and ever since I had first read I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti I’ve been wanting to make this recipe. And it didn’t disappoint. The sauce was incredible. I was only feeding four, but Jay and I have appetites like Ethiopian refugees, so I actually used two 28 oz. cans of whole tomatoes, but not the plain, the ones seasoned with basil. I doubled the salt and sugar but not the wine or the butter. WOW. A super simple sauce, but really tasty. Perfect with the gnocchi. I think it’ll definitely become my go-to sauce recipe. I think the added basil was a great touch. Thank you Giulia (and Marcella Hazan)! And actually, speaking of feeding four, I had plenty of sauce for more, especially since the gnocchi recipe didn’t make as much as I anticipated, or maybe I made mine too large. Woops. But that’s cool, because tonight we’re having homemade margherita pizza with the remainder of the sauce. Yum.

Now for the gnocchi, I used three russet potatoes instead of two, and added a ¼-½ cup of extra flour. Brianne told me when she made hers, she had a problem because she didn’t have a ricer or food mill, and that worried me because I don’t either (and I looked in a bunch of stores and couldn’t find a ricer, so boo to them). I Googled it, and read that using a sieve works too. So I figured if I made the potatoes just a tad softer by boiling them a bit longer, they’d be easier to push through the sieve and therefore less lumpy in the pasta. Also, I peeled them before I boiled them, thinking that without skin they’d get softer. It totally worked. Even without a ricer, the potatoes were so soft and mushy I just pushed them down with a fork and they were the perfect texture. Voila! I cooked them about 55 minutes, which was only 15-20 minutes longer than recommended. The pasta wasn’t too soggy at all, either.

The shape… well, that was a bit harder. Mine came out all kinds of different sizes and shapes, but always with the signature fork-print. Maybe if I’d taken my time, and wasn’t rushed or on a schedule, I could’ve made them more even.  Mine were more like little squares and rectangles. Next time, I would roll them into little balls and then use my thumb and a fork to make the little impressions. But who cares, really. They tasted awesome.

As far as the name of the recipe (see below), you’ll have to read the book to find out why it’s referred to as such. *smiles*

No- Nookie Gnocchi

  • 2 russet potatoes
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • pinch freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1 heaping cup flour, plus more for dusting
  • salt
  • freshly grated pepper
  • freshly grated parmigiano

Put the potatoes in a pot with enough water to cover, bring to a boil, and cook, partially covered, until they are just tender, about 35-40 minutes. Remove the potatoes to a cutting board and peel with a paring knife as soon as you can stand to touch them, then run them through a potato ricer or food mill, spreading them out on a cutting board to cool completely.

Mix the egg, salt and nutmeg. Form the cooled potatoes into a mound and pour the egg mixture into it. Begin kneading the potato and egg mixture with your hands, adding the flour a little at a time, being careful not to overwork the dough.

When the flour is evenly combined with the potato and the dough is only a little sticky, divide it into 4 pieces.Roll each piece into a long, narrow tube like a garden snake and slice it crosswise into little soft pillows, each ½ inch wide. Rest each pillow on the tip of your thumb and impress it with the tines of a fork lightly dusted with flour, creating a ribbed surface for the sauce to cling to. Keep a bowl of flour nearby to dip the fork into, as it will become tacky- or better yet, keep some extra forks nearby.

Add the gnocchi about 10 at a time to a pot of salted boiling water. When they rise to the top, they’re done. Remove them to a serving bowl with a slotted spoon or spider and continue to cook in batches. Toss with the sauce and serve with grated parmigiano and freshly grated pepper.

Yield: about 6 dozen.

For the sauce:

(Adapted from Marcella Hazan’s Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking)

  • 1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes
  • ½ cup (1 stick) butter
  • 1 medium onion, peeled and cut in half
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • ¼ cup red wine
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Put all ingredients in a large saucepan over medium heat, bring to a simmer, then lower heat and cook for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove onion before tossing sauce with the gnocchi.

And to anyone who complains about making sauce, or says they can’t make homemade pasta- BASTA. It is not that difficult at all. If I can do it, you can do it too.

Filed in Cooking, Dinner, Holiday, Marilla, Meal, Pasta, Sauce, Savory, Stove-top | Comments (5)

Just a quick thank you…

Marilla
Thursday, December 24, 2009

I know everyone’s busy with Christmas, getting ready to make our gnocchi and if you’re Jeanine- being at Disney! But I just wanted to thank Yoyo at topstitch.org for spotlighting us this week for ‘Web Crawler Wednesday’! It’s sweet of her to plug us and I know we all appreciate it. Thank you, Yoyo!

So on that note I’ll be gone, but I just wanted to wish all our readers a Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad, Joyeux Noel and Buon Natale! And thanks to you as well for reading our adventures in bookery cookery!

We’ll all be back soon with our adventures in gnocch-ery.

Filed in Holiday, Marilla, Miscellaneous, Uncategorized | Comments (2)

Some random 3 a.m. thoughts on blogging, cooking & authors.

Marilla
Thursday, December 17, 2009

As we near the end of our first book, I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti, get closer to the start of our second book, Garlic & Sapphires, and having just watched the movie Julie & Julia, I started thinking about all sorts of things: blogging, cooking (and blogging about it), and reading books and cooking and then blogging about what you’ve read and in turn, cooked (if you followed that, you’re a borderline genius).

[ Psst... If you're at all unfamiliar with Julie Powell's blog, The Julie/Julia Project, about her adventures in cooking one of Julia Child's cookbooks and how it was turned into a book and then consequently the aforementioned movie, or the story behind it, then perhaps you won't follow this very well. So I suggest you do some research (Wikipedia always helps, a little). ]

So Julia Child didn’t like Julie Powell’s blog. She thought that Julie wasn’t “a serious cook.” That sort of annoys me, although I get that it was probably a generational gap, or perhaps Julia wasn’t getting the snarkiness or maybe even didn’t like the expletives that possibly were sprinkled (or peppered, haha) in. I get that. But what I don’t get is why cooking has to be serious. Why can’t it just be fun? Or maybe even predictable, sometimes, in a comforting way? Why does it have to be serious to the point where a blogger is considered “flimsy” for her attempts?

Don’t get me wrong- I love Julia Child. I recognize how she revolutionized cooking and changed America’s outlook on cooking (and the world, I suppose). I love that she loved butter, because, hell… I do too. Probably more than I should. I know she was fabulous. But, I mean, we aren’t curing cancer here. We aren’t formulating a plan for world peace, or assisting in the Healthcare reform bill, or anything.  It’s a cookbook. It makes people enjoy life more, expand their culinary horizons, that sort of thing. It’s a pleasurable book, not War & Peace. Just like how we’re reading, and cooking, and sharing our experiences about both, and it’s a pleasurable experience. And while in some forms cooking can be serious business (for example, if you’re a restaurant owner I’m sure it’s fairly serious), I don’t find that it has to be stuffy. And I sort of resent anyone who does. Why can’t you cook and when something goes wrong say “fuck” or “shit”? I do it all the time, like that one time when I forgot to put the eggs in my cupcake batter and realized after they were in the oven. I’m pretty sure Julia uttered the ‘F’ word once or twice, too. Why can’t you take on something and do it with humor and seriousness? I don’t see anything wrong with that. I don’t see why you can’t have a sense of humor about making coq au vin or lobster thermidor. What’s so serious about lobsters and cheese!? It’s delicious, yes, but lobsters are pretty funny too, or at least cooking them can be. And in laughing about it, I don’t think it makes you a less serious cook than anyone else. At least you’re putting the effort in to make something like that or boeuf bourguignon, and not defrosting a microwave meal or frozen pizza. I think it was an homage to Julia, and I’m sorry she didn’t see it that way. But you don’t have to be a Le Cordon Bleu graduate to love, enjoy and appreciate cooking, or do it well.

Because here’s the thing: cooking IS fun. It’s a blast. I love it, I love it as much as I love art, and that’s a lot. I am not a classically trained chef, I never took a pastry class in my life, and I probably cut my onions the wrong way. I don’t have T-Fal pots and pans, and you know what? I don’t give a shit. I love to cook. I love to bake. I don’t do it to impress anyone, and I don’t need to. I have fun with it, because it is fun, and I love not only the creation process, but the devouring process. It doesn’t have to be boring, the same, boring, tasteless, spiceless, flavorless chicken every night, or the same lousy casserole no one likes  to eat, but at the same time, no one thinks they can do any better, because OH-EM-GEE, cooking is, like, so totally complicated! You don’t have to make an 8-course meal every night, use Smart Balance every time, or worry about how fattening everything is every single day. Loosen up. Live a little. You don’t have to be Julia Child- and you certainly don’t have to cook lousy food because it’s  quick or tasteless food because it’s “healthy”! Because it’s supposed to be fun, and enjoyable, and savored when it’s eaten; whether it’s drenched in butter or just steamed vegetables, and you’re supposed to be you- make what you like to eat, how you like to eat it, and when.  It doesn’t matter if you’re a vegan, vegetarian, a person of Muslim or Jewish religious beliefs who won’t eat pork, or a Hindu who won’t eat beef: YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO ENJOY YOUR FOOD. And even more so, enjoy CREATING it! Cookbooks are supposed to inspire you, and make you happy, and you’re not supposed to be worried or scared it won’t turn out perfect, or commit yourself to an entire day in the kitchen just to feel like you’re doing the recipe and it’s author justice.

For example, the four of us plan to take on Giulia’s gnocchi as our final project of her book. I can’t speak for the others, but making your own pasta is sorta terrifying. I did it once for a Daring Bakers’ Challenge on Cupcake Rehab and it was a bit daunting. But it was lasagna, so it wasn’t nearly as difficult as potato pasta formed in little pillows with your thumb and a fork. It wasn’t like anyone was going to say “Your lasagna noodles are too thick/thin” or “Your lasagna noodles  don’t have the right shape.” Now I’m fairly certain that gnocchi is not brain surgery, as people have been making it by hand for many, many years. But still… when you create something that seems larger than life like that, it makes you feel different and accomplished. And it’s kind of a testament to the person who wrote the recipe if you can make it and say “Wow, that wasn’t as hard as I thought it was going to be!” because that means they’ve achieved the best thing a “teacher” can achieve: teaching on a level you can understand, learn from, and launch off of, so to speak. Julia should have been flattered that she was so adored by Julie, that she inspired her so, and that her recipes translated so well they could be created in a tiny kitchen in a Queens apartment, not to mention so long after the book had been first published.

I should say now that I’m extremely glad that not all Julia/Giulia’s are the same and that Giulia Melucci didn’t view us  and our blog the way Julia Child viewed Julie Powell and what she was doing. Just as I hope every other author we choose sees it as flattery, not mockery, or us trying to “use” a book for fame. Because that’s certainly not the case. It should be taken as flattery. That, and seen as a group of friends doing what we love, keeping ourselves sane through the therapy of reading and cooking,  sharing the experience with all of you and maybe, just maybe… learning something new both in our kitchens and about ourselves.

Filed in Books, Marilla, Musings, Random, Uncategorized | Comments (0)