Bounty of Basil

Mom has three large basil plants on her deck that are producing a mountain of basil. I can already tell we'll be making a ton of pesto in a few weeks. Last time we were over there she gave me a few sprigs, so Thursday night I decided to make pesto pasta with a cream sauce.

I took the basil leaves and put them in my food processor along with two cloves of garlic (I'd use only one next time since these bad boys were pretty large and made the pesto taste too bitter), a few good grinds of black pepper and whizzed it around. I added some oil through the top and blended it, wiping down the sides with a spoon periodically. I didn't have any pine nuts and I'm not sure how long the walnuts have been in our pantry, but the pesto tasted fine without either. When it was blended I added some grated Pecorino cheese and put it in a pot on the stove over medium-low heat. I added a half-pint of heavy cream and heated it until the cream started to boil.

Meanwhile I cooked a pound of ziti. When that was done I mixed the pasta with the sauce and grated more cheese on top.

Bolognese Revisited

I made bolognese a few weeks ago for dinner. After being dissatisfied with Lidia's recipe (hopefully the first and only time this happens) I cracked open my copy of Giada's "Everyday Italian." I was skeptical since the last dish I made from this book was fettucine alfredo that involved lemon, a combination that should never, ever be allowed to exist. I was pleasantly surprised. Giada's version was meaty and flavorful and a lot faster to make than Lidia's. My only complaint was that the meat to tomato ratio was off. I think I'm going to double the amount of tomato from now on.

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 celery stalk, coarsely chopped
1 carrot, coarsely chopped
1 pound ground chuck beef
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes (I'd use two if you like a good balance of meat and tomato)
1/4 cup flat-leaf Italian parsley, chiffonade
8 fresh basil leaves, chiffonade
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano

In a 6 quart pot, add extra-virgin olive oil. When almost smoking, add the onion and garlic and saute over medium heat until the onions become very soft, about 8 minutes. Add the celery and carrot and saute for 5 minutes. Raise heat to high and add the ground beef. Saute, stirring frequently and breaking up any large lumps and cook until meat is no longer pink, about 8 minutes. Add the tomatoes, parsley and basil and cook over medium low heat until the sauce thickens, about 1/2 hour. Finish bolognese with Pecorino Romano.

The recipe made enough for another meal, so I froze the leftovers for another time. Going back to work on Monday is always rough and since I get home so late, being able to defrost sauce and have dinner on the table in the time it takes to boil the pasta sounded very appealing.

When I heated up the bolognese I added a pint of tomatoes Mom and I canned last summer and the leftover pizza sauce from homemade pizza night to correct the balance. This time it was perfect. And the tiny bit of oregano from the pizza sauce really added a nice zing. Now if only I could get that to happen on the first try.

We had half a loaf of crusty French baguette leftover as well plus a selection of cheeses in the cheese drawer, so I decided to make garlic bread with cheese. I took a few tablespoons of softened butter and mixed in chopped parsley and a paste of garlic and kosher salt. I blended that together, cut the bread in half lengthwise and then spread the garlic parsley butter over both halves of the baguette. I shredded a handful of mozzarella, cheddar and Pecorino Romano and divided that evenly over both halves. Stuck it in my toaster oven on broil for a few minutes to melt the cheese and voila!

Staying Cool While Still Eating Well

We had my mom over for dinner on Sunday. Since we are still experiencing temperatures bordering on ridiculous, I didn't want to make anything too heavy. Since my parents belong to an organic food co-op, I decided to base my menu around whatever was in their box o' veggies this week. Basil, dill, green peppers, grape tomatoes and cabbage turned into broiled salmon with dill mayo, corn salad with tomatoes, green pepper, red onion with a basil vinaigrette and coleslaw.

I bought 6 ears of corn for $1 at the store, but I was in such a hurry that I didn't take the time to peel back the top layer to check out the corn. That meant when I was shucking the corn later that afternoon I had a run-in with not one but two maggots who had made their home at the top of two of my ears of corn. After much screeching and flapping of the hands, the intrepid SP came to the rescue and disposed of the bodies. Those ears of corn were promptly cut in half, which meant I ended up with only 5 ears of corn when all was said and done.

Once shucked, the corn was blanched for only a minute in some boiling water. After it cooled, I took the kernels off with a knife. To that I added some very finely minced red onion (only half of a small onion), two green peppers cut into a large dice, grape tomatoes that I cut in half and some minced basil. The dressing was red wine vinegar, garlic mashed into a paste with kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper and minced basil. Streamed in some olive oil and whisked it all together.



The salmon was simply seasoned with salt and pepper. Since we were only three people I was able to fit the salmon on the broiler tray for my toaster oven. I broiled it for 15 minutes until the outside turned opaque and the flesh flaked easily with a fork. For the dill mayo I minced fresh dill (I like a lot so I used most of the bunch Mom gave me) and mayo together in a bowl. Let it sit for as long as possible so the flavors can come together. I think mine sat for a good 2 hours.



Mom and I made the coleslaw together since I've never made it the way she makes it before and I needed a tutorial. She thinly sliced half a head of cabbage while I shredded a carrot on the large holes of a box grater. We mixed the two together and then added a few squirts (probably 3 tablespoons) of ketchup, a glob of mayo (maybe 1/2 cup to 1 cup depending on how wet you like it) and a few tablespoons of plain white vinegar. Mix it all together, taste to see if it's tangy enough and add more mayo if it's too tangy or more vinegar if it's not tangy enough. Mix well and let stand for at least 15 minutes so the flavors can meld.

Homemade Pizza 101

Despite the oppressive heat we've been having lately, SP and I decided to make homemade pizza for dinner last Saturday. I know, I know. We are obviously insane. But the way we figured it, we could crank up the A/C in the living room, turn on the fan for good measure and then the heat from the oven wouldn't bother us. Call us crazy, but it worked. And man, was the pizza good!



We cheated and bought dough from the Italian bakery down the street. They make an excellent dough and it's one less step we have to do ourselves. This was actually the second dough we bought. The first dough came from the supermarket and had been frozen. We took it out to defrost for dinner on Thursday, but something came up and we decided not to make the pizza. So the dough sat in the fridge until Saturday and by the time I went to roll it out, there were black marks on it. Not knowing whether that was mold or not, we opted to throw it away instead of risking it and out SP went to the bakery for new dough.

We had some leftover pepperoni from a dinner party, baby bellas and a small can of black olives. SP whipped up a quick pizza sauce using a recipe from the Italian momma herself (Lidia) and we were good to go. The last few times we've made homemade pizza the sauce has been runny and flavorless and the middle of the pizza ends up soggy. This time everything came together nicely.

I rolled out the dough on the counter, which I'd spread with flour. It took some patience since the dough is very elastic and tends to bounce right back. With some good old fashioned elbow grease it eventually starts to resemble something like a pizza. Except mine always end up in odd shapes. Take this one, for example. Heart shaped. Oh well. Still tasted good. I put the dough on a piece of parchment paper dusted with cornmeal. At this point I was able to arrange the dough in a slightly more circular fashion. Then I ladled on some sauce, which was nice and thick this time, and arranged the toppings. Once those were on, I covered everything with shredded mozzarella (a tip for shredding: stick the cheese in the freezer for about 15 minutes).

We had been preheating our pizza stone in a 500 degree oven. Once the pizza was ready, SP lifted the parchment paper and placed the pizza onto the stone. Me being slightly scatterbrained, I forgot to trim the edges of the parchment paper and about 3 minutes into the cooking time we started to smell burning paper. Out came the pizza stone, the edges of the paper were trimmed and back it went into the oven. After about 15 minutes it was done. You can tell when the edges of the pizza have risen and look hard and the cheese is melted and is starting to brown in spots.

We let it cool on the counter for 5 minutes before slicing it so the cheese has a chance to set.

The Ultimate Comfort Food - Spaghetti Carbonara

Spaghetti carbonara: salty, sweet, meltingly tender. My idea of the ultimate comfort food. When I was living in England my junior year of college, I must have eaten this dish at every Italian restaurant I encountered. My favorite thing to do was split an order with S at Pinnochios so we could also order something else. I miss eating with her. She was always game for anything.

I spend a lot of time watching Lidia's show on PBS and the first time I saw her make the dish on "Lidia's Family Table" I figured it looked easy enough to make at home. I'd always assumed it was a complicated recipe because it was so luxurious. When I flipped open Lidia's book and saw that the recipe was titled "Linguine with Bacon and Onions" I just about fell over from the shock. Could it really be that simple?

Apparently, yes. All you need is bacon, onions, a long pasta of your choice, egg yolks, chicken stock, freshly ground black pepper and Parmesan cheese (I always use Pecorino Romano because that's what we buy as our grating cheese).

Linguine with Bacon and Onions (courtesy of Lidia)

Ingredients:

Salt
6 ounces bacon
2 large yellow onions, sliced 1/2 inch thick (about 3 cups)
1-1/2 cups hot chicken stock or canned reduced-sodium chicken broth, or as needed
1 pound linguine
3 egg yolks
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Coarsely ground black pepper

Directions:

Bring 6 quarts of salted water to the boil in an 8-quart pot over high heat.

Cut the bacon into 1/4-inch strips. Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring, until the bacon is lightly browned but still soft in the center, about 6 minutes.

The amount of fat in the skillet will vary depending on the bacon. If there is more than 3 to 4 tablespoons of fat in the pan, pour off the excess. If there is less than 3 to 4 tablespoons, add enough olive oil to measure that amount. Add the onions and cook until wilted but still crunchy, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the stock, bring to a boil, and adjust the heat to a lively simmer. Cook until the liquid is reduced by about half.

Meanwhile, stir the linguine into the boiling salted water. Return to a boil, stirring frequently. Cook the pasta, semi-covered, stirring occasionally, until done, about 8 minutes.

Ladle off about a cup of the pasta-cooking water. If the skillet is large enough to accommodate the sauce and pasta, fish the pasta out of the boiling water with a large wire skimmer and drop it directly into the sauce in the skillet. If not, drain the pasta, return it to the pot, and pour in the sauce. Bring the sauce and pasta to a boil, stirring to coat the pasta with sauce. Check the seasoning, adding salt if necessary. If necessary, add as much chicken stock or pasta-cooking water as needed to make enough sauce to coat the pasta generously.

Remove the pan from the heat and add the egg yolks one at a time, tossing well after each. Add the grated cheese, then the black pepper, tossing well, and serve immediately in warmed bowls.

Cobb Salad - My First Post

The day has arrived. I finally broke down and started a blog. And what better topic for a blog than food, right?

Back when I was still doing Sunday dinners for the family, I made the Ultimate Cobb Salad. It was a pretty warm day and I didn't want to use the oven or the stove and I also didn't want to be slaving away in the kitchen while everyone was sipping cool refreshing drinks in the living room. And thus the Ultimate Cobb Salad was born.



Ain't she a beaut? From left to right: diced cheddar cheese, crumbled blue cheese, pitted black olives, hardboiled eggs, grilled chicken, crumbled bacon, avocado and diced tomatoes.

When I got home from the grocery store I washed and dried the Romaine lettuce. On Sunday morning I made a marinade of lemon juice, garlic, basil, salt, pepper and a smidge of olive oil. I let the chicken marinate for a few hours (2 or 3 tops since the lemon juice would start breaking down the meat if I let it sit too long). While the chicken was marinating I diced the tomatoes, added salt and pepper and let it sit at room temperature. Then I cooked the bacon in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, cooled it and cut it into a rough dice. While the bacon was cooking, I put four eggs in a small pot of cold water, brought it to a boil, turned off the heat and let the eggs sit for 12 minutes. Then I drained the eggs, ran them under cold water and peeled them and cut them into a large dice. I also cubed the cheddar cheese and crumbled the blue cheese.

In the middle of the afternoon I got out my handy-dandy electric grill (apartment living definitely has its drawbacks - no outdoor grilling. And since my grill pan suffered a miserable fate a few months earlier, the electric grill is all I've got) and cooked the chicken a few minutes on each side until it was nicely browned. After I let it cool I chopped it into a large dice and let it come to room temperature.

Before everyone arrived at 4:30 I got out my very large brown oval serving dish. I lay down a bed of Romaine and started assembling the arranged salad. Color was everything so I arranged the brightest colors at the ends (the cheddar and the tomatoes) and worked my way in. The avocados had to be diced at the last possible second so they wouldn't turn brown. Once they were diced, I spritzed them with some lemon juice and seasoned them with salt and pepper.

I served the salad with (gasp!) bottled Caesar dressing. My husband (from here on out will be referred to as SP) actually had (double gasp!) bottled Russian dressing because that's what he preferred. I could have made my own Caesar since it's certainly easy enough, but I just wasn't up for it. Ken's makes an excellent bottled Caesar that worked just fine.