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!

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.

As many of you may know, I just recently started working (go me), after all too many career changes and YEARS in school. I do enjoy my work very much, however I have yet to make it over the “what do you mean I wont be home by 3 Oclock” hump. Since Matt and I have been married, I have essentially cooked dinner for us almost every night (barring weekends when we usually head to the restaurants). And I have thoroughly enjoyed this. The truth is I’m a bit of a homebody. Most of my days revolve around 2 things, what I will eat for lunch and what I will  eat (make) for dinner. Since I started working, this has all gone out the window and sadly been replaced with delivery. Last week, after a hell of a couple of days (my dog, grandmother, and mother ALL had surgery! everybody is fine…except for my stockings, but that is another story)  I decided to try and seek Matt’s help and Giulia’s epicurean guidance to be able to make a quick meal. I opted for the veal cutlet and salad from early on in the book, remembering that it looked like a cinch to make. Matt headed to Trader Joe’s for requested ingredients (veal) and Matt returned sans veal and with “chicken tenders”. Please be advised, Matthew clearly looked for veal, but TJ’s did not have any. This might be a good time to mention that meat in general kind of makes me want to barf. I was vegeterian for all too many years, and when i did start eating meat again, Chicken was the first down the hatch…and first to make its way back up. Not a great combination with “chicken breast tenders”. Giulia’s recipe called for veal or chicken cutlets..oh well this would have to do.

My next hurdle was frying. I bake with butter and oil all of the time, however, for some strange reason, actually saying I will “fry” something seems unhealthy. Sure, 1/2 pound of butter in my cookies could be seen as good for you fat, but throw it on the stove with some meat, and that is unhealthy. I was so stressed out though, and sometimes, you just need some trans fat! I did wind up breading and frying the cutlets according to Giulia…and it was well worth it. I did doctor  it up a bit, but it was very crisp and suprisingly light. I am making it again this evening (with real chicken cutlets) and some garlic spinach.

Giulia’s Breaded Cutlets

2 Eggs, lightly beaten, seasons with salt

3/4 C. bread crumbs seasoned with salt, pepper, and 1 Tbs. Parsley (I actually used italian style bread crumbs)

1 pound this cutlets

2 Tbs. Olive Oil

1 Tbs Butter

Lemon

Put the eggs in a wide rimmed bowl and put the bread crumbs on a plate. (I added a little but of milk to the eggs). Dip the meat into the eggs and then into the breadcrumbs.

In a skillet heat the oil and butter until melted and bubbly. Add the breaded cutlets and cook approximately 4 minutes on each side. You may have to do this two times. Refresh the trans fat in the pan if necessary! Pat cutlets with a paper towel and serve!

I made this with a really easy Spinach.

1 Bag baby spinach (pre cleaned is easiest)

4 cloves sliced garlic

1 shallot, sliced

1 tbs each butter and olive oil (the butter is so not necessary but sooooo good!)

salt and pepper

Heat olive oil and butter in a pan until bubbly. Add garlic until slightly browned, add shallots and let cook until soft and a bit carmelized. Add spinach, salt and pepper until spinach wilts. Enjoy!

I am making this again tonight, it was so perfect. If you want to be healthier, you can eliminate all butter, use three egg whites and skim milk for the eggs, and whole wheat bread crumbs.

Saturday we enjoyed some time with my dad back in PA- which brings me to some happy news He had gotten me a pair of faboosh boots for my birthday that were waiting on my doorstep when I came home on Friday… but when he showed up, Christmas gifts in tow, we decided we’d all tear into them and not wait. I am so glad I didn’t! I got my mixer!!! wooooooo! My poor husband looked at me like I was a freak – I was flipping out. I don’t think he’d seen me jump up and down like that since I found out I was pregnant LOL!

She’s fantastic, she’s beautiful, I have a crush on an inanimate object. Meet her! Since every mixer has a name, I knew I had to think of something perfect. So, without further adieu, please meet the newest addition to my kitchen – Betty!

Isn’t she gorge? Love her!

Anyway, back to the blogging! Brett’s dad came up today to visit and I had said he could choose what I made for dinner. His choice? Haddock. Now, honestly, I’m not really a super fishy person – I love love shellfish, but I just don’t eat other fish all that much. So, what do I do? I turn to Giulia, whose book has fast become my failsafe when I’m in the mood to make something and don’t know what. She has quite a few seafood recipes in Spaghetti, but this one I found to be simple enough for who I was cooking for. The recipe uses sole, but I found it to be yummy with the haddock. The guys loved it! And I used my baby for the first time – to make angel food cake for dessert!

Incendiery Sole*

*I used halibut. Any firm, white fish should taste good in this recipe, but beware that the cooking times will vary slightly.

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
1/3 cup olive oil
1 heaping cup bread crumbs
3/4 tsp salt
1 tbs chopped parsley
Freshly ground pepper
2 pounds sole or flounder

Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Combine butter and oil in a wide shallow bowl; season the bread crumbs with salt, parsley and pepper and spread on a plate. Dip the fish in butter and oil, covering thoroughly, then dredge through the breadcrumbs. Place on a baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes, until the crumb topping is slightly brown.
Serves 4-6.

This was delicious. I served it with my homemade mashed potatoes (yes, I used Betty this time for those!). You can find that recipe here.

Now, this isn’t from Giulia’s book. BUT I feel like I should post this because this isn’t a recipe you come across very often and it’s beyond amazing. I’d been looking for an exceptional angel food cake recipe for Brett’s birthday this past September. Of course, I turned to Marilla to enlist her help. She found this recipe from one of her baker friends, and my husband refuses to eat any other angel food cake. Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 cup cake flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons sugar
12 large egg whites
1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

NOTE: Note: For those not use to making angel food cakes Don’t get any yoke in the whites, if you do throw out and start over. I always separate the egg in a glass first. Then if no yoke pour into measuring container.

DO NOT GREASE PAN!

Heat oven to 375°.
Sift the cake flour and 3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp sugar; set aside.
Combine the extracts in a small bowl; set aside.
Beat egg whites, cream of tartar and salt until it forms peaks.
Add the other 3/4 cup of sugar slowly, then beat on high until stiff peaks form.
If you have a mixing guard for your mixer bowl now would be a good time to attach it.
Beating on LOW, add flour mixture and extracts slowly.
Make sure you fold in the sides and bottom of your mixing bowl. You can fold in flour mixture by hand but this way is faster. Spoon into an angel food cake pan.
Move a knife through batter to remove air pockets.
Bake 30-35 minutes or until top springs back when touched lightly with finger.
Invert pan onto a tin funnel to cool completely.
To remove the cake from your pan run a knife around the rim of the cake pan just to get the ‘crust’ away from the pan. Then firmly spank the sides of your pan. You could use a knife but this sometime tears the sides of the cake. Invert onto your serve plate then take the knife to the now top which was the bottom of your pan and gently cut cake away from the pan insert.

Enjoy!!

It was early to bed for the rest of the house tonight.  I ate one of the delicious cupcakes I made last night while pondering what to make myself for dinner (they ate leftovers from Thanksgiving). I settled on a reheated stuffed artichoke and a batch of Giulia’s pastina.  I have to say, it’s perfect comfort food.  My mom always made it for us as kids, but not this way. I have to say, this is much better.  Something about snuggling up under a blanket  with a nice bowl of that is the perfect way to end the weekend.

Pastina

1/4 cup pastina
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp butter
1 tablespoon freshly grated parmigiano
Freshly ground pepper

Bring 1 cup of water to a boil in a small saucepan, add pastina and salt, and cook until most of the water is absorbed, 3-4 minutes. Turn off heat and add the egg, letting it cook on the hot pasta, then add the butter, cheese, and a little pepper. Serves 1.

So many of Giulia’s relationships reminded me of my own. There was my first boyfriend, who I felt so safe with but was also very not in love with. There was my second rebound boyfriend who broke my heart (not once, not twice, but three times)..each time by, get ready for it…not calling me. Yup, after several months, he would just stop calling me, I have taken to calling him A$$hole, and had I read Giulia previously probably would have sent some good ol’ Fuck You Cakes his way! (Instead I chose vodka). Then there were the more short term relationships that just kind of left me like “huh”?, and were perhaps the most frustrating…hence my contempt for Lachlan. Prior to meeting my husband, I had seriously stopped dating. I was so intent on fulfilling my own happiness. I cooked for myself, I ate by myself…with good dishes (and good wine) and really began to appreciate being “an independent woman”. I have done many things independently from living alone, to backpacking through Guatemala, to going to the movies. And I certainly appreciated each of those things. I was amazed when I met Matt how easily it was to enter a more “domestic” role after living so independently. I often wonder if I was fooling myself being happy as a single person. I continue to wonder if the most important ingredient in this life is love? And if so, does it need to be romantic love? Then there are also times, where I actually miss the quietness of my own kitchen, making a meal for one. Sure entertaining is great, but there is also a simple pleasure in caring for yourself. Being with one person is wonderful, but there are also bittersweet transitions, like an end to my meals for one, or changes in family holiday traditions, or total control of the remote control. However, not being in a relationship is also bittersweet. It is a continuous struggle for me personally to maintain by commitment to very feminist values while enjoying the very domestic tasks I love. Given all of that bitterness, I am all for blanching bitter stuff out of what I can! Enter, “broccoli di rape”.

2 Lb. Broccoli di Rape (or Broccoli Rabe)

Salt

2 Tbs. Olive Oil

2 cloves garlic minced

1/8 Tsp. Hot red pepper flakes

Place a Large Pot over High Heat. Arrange a bowl with water and ice. Trim the tough stalk from the broccoli di rape, and when water begins to simmer add salt and then broccoli. Blanch for 3 minutes, then place in ice bath.

Heat Olive Oil in a large skillet over medium heat, then add the garlic and hot pepper. When the garlic is golden drain the broccoli, squeeze out excess water, and add to the skillet. Lower the heat and cook for about ten minutes for crunchy broccoli and twenty for soft, add some water if necessary.

I didn’t get to take a picture of this, but trust me…it was phenomenal. I did not have ice, so I wound up doing a “cold water” bath, which was kind of silly since the water just warmed from the blanched broccoli. I also used a lot more garlic (like 12 cloves) and 2 Tbs. butter/2 Tbs. Olive oil. I cooked for 15 minutes and it was the perfect consistency…not too crunchy but not too soft. And, it was not bitter at all…now if we could only get the bitterness out of relationships…

Mitch was a recovering alcoholic who really was totally unimpressed with food, unless it was simple (like spaghetti with butter and parmesan or… well, grilled cheese). I am neither a recovering alcoholic nor am I unimpressed with food- quite the contrary. I’m a bit over-impressed with food. As in, I’m so impressed, I eat and eat and eat… and in Jay, I’ve found someone who enjoys that as much as I do. Which can be dangerous, for my waistline anyway. And it was, thankfully I’ve dropped all the weight I gained during our first few years together in our journeys through every restaurant in Long Island (and some in New Jersey and Manhattan).

Anyway, tonight I wasn’t all that hungry (unusual for me, if you know me you know I can out-eat most men twice my size… or at the very least, keep up with them), and I have a LOT of baking/preparing to do for Thanksgiving, so I wanted something light and quick. I decided that the Italian grilled cheese was perfect. I switched it up a bit from Giulia’s recipe, which is actually more along the lines of a hybrid of French toast and a croque monsieur. I made mine more like a regular grilled cheese, however. Giulia uses Italian bread in her recipe, I used Wonder bread (I know, I know). I spread some minced garlic and drizzled a bit of olive oil on two slices. Then I put some mozzarella on one of them, flipped the other slice over so the garlic side faced the cheese, and grilled it in a skillet in some olive oil. I also used some marinara sauce in a little bowl to dip it in, because I am of the school of thought that bread + cheese is always better with marinara or some kind of tomato/tomato sauce. Oh- and garlic (like Brianne said the other day).

Italian Grilled Cheese for Teenage WASPs

• Olive oil
• Italian bread, or even a French baguette (1 to 2 days old is fine), thinly sliced
• Mozzarella, thinly sliced (this may have been sitting around a couple of days, too)
• 1 to 2 eggs, lightly beaten

Heat olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Make little sandwiches with the bread and cheese and dip in the egg. When the olive oil is hot, slip in the sandwiches (you may insert a toothpick in each for the cooking if you find they are falling apart) and cook until golden on both sides and cheese is melted. Press with a kettle or pot full of water to flatten (if you’ve used toothpicks, remove them when the cheese is melted and has glued everything together).

Yield: 1 loaf of bread makes 8-12 sandwiches.

I thought this was so easy and yet so good. Even if I had made mine with the egg, I’d probably have used the garlic as well. It really adds a little something extra. You could make so many variations on this theme- add ham, or chicken, or turkey. Add mushrooms, use a different kind of cheese… etc, etc. It’s a great basic staple recipe you can build on. No wonder why Mitch liked it so much!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone reading this. Enjoy your day, enjoy your family, eat a lot of food and think of us!