Bowl Licker

As a food blogger I have pondered how to celebrate Earth Day in way that makes sense to me and brings together the two things I am most passionate about – food and family. This time of year it is easy to notice that certain foods look good but may be lacking their in-season succulent flavor. The foods on the “no go list’ from a flavor perspective are tomatoes, cantaloupes, and asparagus. Foods to gravitate towards include English peas, artichokes, morels, and fava beans. How does this help the earth? Well, aside from the obvious benefit to the person eating these items – ergo in season produce tastes better and is more nutritious – your food will not have traveled thousands of miles to reach your table, which saves on fuel and gives the environment a break…and your wallet too since these good eats are often less expensive. Take away (no, I did not say Take Out! ). Eating “in season” is a noble way to celebrate the earth – and April 22, 2010 marks the 40th anniversary of Earth Day.

While I could tout that the best place to find the freshest produce is at your local farmer’s market, I must tell you that I am not 100% on that band wagon. I think there are some farmer’s markets that are hiring people to take their unrefrigerated produce out on the local circuit as it has become much more en vogue to purchase one’s produce in this fashion- the problem, is that when it is not freshly grown and picked by the “local” farmer, it is again traveling around long distances, remaining unrefrigerated and really worse for you than if you had purchased it in a super market. I know. I know, this is difficult to hear (or read). We all want to know our local grocers and while you can’t throw one bad apple out with the lot, you do have to be a bit of an investigative consumer. I jest you not, this has turned into a big business! Enough of my rant on what how to be a savvy earth-friendly food shopper. Let’s get to the grits of this post or at least the fava bean. I came across this recipe from @CityMama and instantly LOVED it. It quickly became a hit around my house and the bright green hue of these beans seem like just the right color to kick-off my Earth Day Tribute!

Be sure to read the entire recipe as there are two sets of ingredients and two sets of directions – all very easy and quick to put together!

Fava Bean Crostini with Shaved Pecorino Romano

Fava Bean Crostini Ingredients

3-4 lbs of fava beans, shelled and boiled as described below, then skinned
1 clove of garlic
extra-virgin olive oil
sea salt
fresh ground pepper
pecorino romano, shaved with a potato peeler
thinly sliced toasted bread or toasted pita wedges

Notes: Approximately 3-4 pounds of fava beans in their pods to yield about a cup of pureed favas. They go so well with garlic and your best, fruitiest olive oil, and if you have a food processor you can make these pre-dinner treats in just a few minutes. You can use any assertive, flavorful hard cheese like parmesan, caciota di boschi, aged goat gouda etc.

Fava Bean Crostini Directions

Favas do require a little work but the reward is so worth it. You have to shell the beans and then remove the skin that covers each individual bean. Look for pods with small-to-medium-sized beans. They are sweeter, and when the beans are small you don’t necessarily need to remove the skin that covers the bean. The larger the beans are, the tougher the skin on the bean. Place the shelled but unskinned beans into boiling salted water for 1-2 minutes, then drain them and shock them in an ice bath. The skins will soften and shrivel and you can pop them right off.

Place favas in bowl of food processor with garlic. Turn on motor and through food tube, slowly drizzle olive into bowl in a thin stream until favas as creamy and almost smooth, about the consistency of hummus. Taste for salt and remove the puree to a bowl.

Crostini Ingredients

1 loaf crusty bread, sliced into 1/2-inch slices (better if it is a day+ old)
Olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Crostini Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

On a baking sheet, arrange the bread slices in a single layer Bake until bread is golden brown and crisp, approximately 9-12 minutes. Put a generous teaspoon of fava bean puree atop a slice of toasted bread and shave pecorino romano over it. Grind pepper over and serve. Refrigerate any leftover puree.

Serves approximately 20 pieces.

I recently had the opportunity to see Chef Michael Chiarello. I had been to Tra Vigne frequented his store Napa Style and am setting my plan for a special visit to Bottega this summer. He has captivated me on TV and is no less charming in person- what I did discover is that he is a wonderful story teller and that he too has his roots in Southern Italy.

Leading the charge to unearth some really wonderful insights into the life and times of Michael was Table Hopper’s Marcia Gagliardi (yes, another Pisan you can follow on Twitter @tablehopper). And to finish off the evening was a recipe for one of Michael’s ‘bites’ and then a tasting of the recipe paired with some wine from his private vineyard.

There are three videos to this post two which show Chef Chiarello making the artichoke crostini bites and the other from his interview with Marcia when he speaks of how he learned to tenderize an octopus while cooking for the King of Thailand. I encourage you to watch all three as they could quickly become party stories amongst the foodies.

Artichoke Crostini Bites
Note: There are two ingredients lists and two sets of directions.

Chef Chiarello’s Tips/Tricks:
1) Select artichokes that are tightly closed heads and be sure to trim away any dark green spots. These will be bitter.
2) He likes to call this one of his master recipes as it is truly versatile. It can be used as an appetizer, as this recipe depicts, or as a sauce for fish, as a pesto for pasta or even as a soup by adding a few new nuances.
3) To make this into a pesto: add 1/2 cup tightly packed (cleaned) basil when blending. As a fish sauce, add a bit of tarragon, for a soup add in some extra broth and cream.

Artichoke Puree Ingredients

3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup lemon juice, fresh squeezed
3 large cloves garlic, quartered lengthwise
1 tsp thyme leaves, finely chopped fresh
1 bay leaf
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
6 medium size or 4 large artichokes (or 1 12oz-package frozen artichokes, thawed)*
1 15-oz can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup Pecorino Romano, grated
1 tsp lemon zest
Burrata cheese-optional for topping

Note: If you are using frozen artichokes you will want to peel off a few leaves to deep fry as decoration. If you are using fresh artichokes you may want to use a mandolin and thinly slice 1/2 of an artichoke as decoration.

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Working with one artichoke at a time, bend the tough outter leaves backwards until they break (the video shows exactly how to do this). Continue to remove the leaves in the manner until reaching the more tender interior leaves that are at a yellowish green color. Taking a serrated knife, cut across the leaves at the point where the color changes from yellowish to dark green. Trim the stem of its outer layer, then trim the base to 1-2 inches removing any dark green spots. Quarter the artichokes lengthwise and scoop out the purple colored choke. Place the quarter artichokes in a large size bowl, add in the the lemon juice, salt and pepper turning to coat.

In a deep ovenproof pan, combine 1/2 cup olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, thyme, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Add the artichokes and mix to coat. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

Cover with pan with aluminum foil, transfer to the oven, and cook until the artichokes are slightly browned and tender when pierced, approximately 35 minutes. Remove from oven, set aside and cool in the liquid. Remove the bay leaf.

When the artichokes are cooled, place along with the liquid into a food processor, add beans, cheese, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Pulse until the mixture is chunky. With the machine running, slowly add the remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil and process until smooth.

Remove Burrata cheese from the refrigerator.

Serves 8 – 10 (makes approximately 2 cups)

Crostini Ingredients

1 loaf crusty bread, sliced into 1/2-inch slices (better if it is a day+ old)
Olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Crostini Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the bread in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

On a baking sheet, arrange the bread slices in a single layer. Using a pastry brush, brush the bread with 1/4 cup of the oil. (If you don’t have a pastry bush, just drizzle olive oil over the bread.) Bake until golden brown and crisp, approximately 9-12 minutes.

Bake until bread is golden brown and crisp, about 8 to 9 minutes. Spoon the artichoke mixture onto the crostini. Place a piece of Burrata cheese on top (or sprinkle Parmesan cheese), add decorate with fried artichoke hearts. Drizzle with oil and serve.

To follow Chef Michael Chiarello on Twitter @ChefChiarello
Let me know if you loved his method for squeezing lemons as much as I did. I tried it but found it was a bit painful. My aunt’s secret to getting all of the lemon juice out of the lemon is to first roll the lemons on a firm surface to soften them. She then places them one at a time in the microwave for 35 seconds, cuts them open and squeezes the juice out.

Meeting someone’s entire family for the first time can be a bit nerve racking, especially when it is around a family holiday like Easter and you are only 18 years old. But there is nothing to set someone more at ease than the charming gap-toothed (think Lauren Hutton), twinkling-eyed (akin to Paul Newman) smile of the family legend, known as “Papa”, handing you a ‘virgin’ version of his signature holiday drink. (Or maybe it wasn’t sans-alcohol but it’s now too many years later to make a fuss- the tradition behind the cocktail was in itself something that set smiles across the room -or at least I thought it was the tradition, it may have just been the buzz of the alcohol.)

A special drink, about a special family that welcomed me into their home more than half a lifetime ago. And today I welcome you, as member of my cyber-family, to share this recipe, the first I’ve published on my blog taken directly from my cook book ‘Taste This’.

Cin Cin.

Vodka Fizz

Ingredients

1 oz vodka
1 oz triple sec or Contreau
1 cup frozen peaches
1/2 cup ice cubes or crushed ice
1/2 cup 7-Up
2 cups half-and-half
1 TBS sugar
1 egg
nutmeg, dash

Directions

Put all of the ingredients in a blender and mix until frothy.

Pour into a clear glass and top with a dash of nutmeg.

Serves 4-6

While I am not typically a wordless Wednesday kinda-gal, I have been tempted to anti-up. Today’s the day. My trip to Yountville still has me dreaming of these images on a daily basis…the heart of a foodie unleashed. My photo diary of Bouchon Bakery, Napa Style and French Laundry.

Below the Napa Style image of the store and salmon colored salt, you can see the picturesque grounds and the organic vegetable garden at French Laundry…

While I had never had rhubarb, I had always adored the color of this vibrant colored vegetable. I began an investigation of all those people I knew that had eaten this celeriac-like ingredient to hear what they had to say about their likes/dislikes. For those that I spoke with that were rhubarb regulars, they agreed that this vegetable turned dessert can be VERY tart. I decided that this would have to be a recipe with some other elements. If you are looking for a Spring treat, and dare take on a bit of culinary adventure, let the baking commence.

If you still need convincing, take a peak at the photos and see if you feel tempted!

The fine print: Be forewarned, this recipe involves numerous steps and should be made at least one-two days in advance due to the refrigeration required for the crust, mousse and rhubarb elements. Please note that there are three sets of ingredients listed below along with three sets of directions. None of the steps are very difficult but every layer will have its moment in the refrigerator.

Rhubarb Lemon Yogurt Mousse Tart

Supplies

10-inch spring form pan
parchment paper

Cornmeal Lemon Crust

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups flour, plus more for parchment
3/4 cup coarse yellow cornmeal
2 TBS sugar
1 tsp lemon zest, finely grated
1/4 tsp coarse salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 large egg yokes
3 TBS water

Directions

In a food processor mix flour, cornmeal, sugar, lemon zest and salt until well combined. Add butter and mix in food processor until well combined, approx 20-30 seconds. Mixture should resemble coarse crumbs.

In a small-size bowl, beat yolks and water. With machine running, pour yolk mixture into flour mixture for approximately 20 seconds until just combined.

Shape dough into disk then wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hr. (This dough can be refrigerated up to 2 days.)

On lightly floured parchment paper, roll out dough to 1/4-inch thickness. (If you have refrigerated dough longer overnight you may need to let it sit out for 20 minutes with the plastic removed to allow it to roll out easier). Place into a 10-inch spring form pan, making sure that the dough goes to the top of the pan. Refrigerate until dough is cold and firm, approximately 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Line dough with parchment paper and fill with either pie weights or dried beans. Bake approximately 25 minutes or until edges start to turn brown. Carefully remove weights and parchment. reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking until golden brown, approximately 20-25 minutes. Let crust cool in pan on a wire rack.

Lemon Yogurt Mousse

Ingredients

1 tsp unflavored gelatin
1 TBS cold water
3/4 cup plus 1 TBS heavy cream
3 TBS light-brown sugar
1 1/2 cups plain yogurt
1 TBS lemon zest, finely grated
pinch of coarse salt
2 tsps vanilla extract

Directions

In a small-size bowl, sprinkle gelatin over cold water and let stand until softened, approximately 5 minutes.

In a small-size pan, over medium-high heat, combine 1 TBS cream and the brown sugar stirring until sugar dissolves and mixture is warm. Stir in gelatin mixture and remove from heat.

In a medium-size bowl, combine yogurt, lemon zest, and salt. Add brown-sugar mixture and whisk until smooth.

In another medium-size bowl, whisk remaining 3/4 cup cream and vanilla until medium-peaks form. Gently fold cream into yogurt mixture.

Pour lemon-yogurt mousse into crust. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 4 hours or overnight.

Rhubarb Topping

Ingredients

2 cups sugar
1/3 cup water
1 cup brandy
1 cinnamon stick
8 whole black peppercorns
pinch of salt
1 1/2 lbs rhubarb (approx 2 large stalks), halved lengthwise and cut in to 1/2-inch pieces
1 TBS lemon juice, fresh squeezed

Directions

In a medium-size pot on medium-heat, bring sugar and water to a boil stirring until sugar dissolves. Cook without stirring until mixture becomes a light amber color, approximately 7-10 minutes. Remove from heat, and add 3/4-cup brandy, the cinnamon stick , peppercorns, vanilla and salt. Return mixture to a boil for 2-3 minutes and ten stir in rhubarb.

Remove pan from heat, cover and let stand for 5-8 minutes. Stir in lemon juices and remaining 1/4 cup brandy. Cover and let stand for 20 more minutes. Then refrigerate until cold, approximately 4 hours.

Strain rhubarb and reserve liquid. Discard cinnamon and peppercorns. In a medium-size pot, boil reserved liquid until reduced to 1 1/2 cups. Let cool.

Spoon strained rhubarb over the mouse. Serve immediately with rhubarb reduction on the side.

Servings: 8

This guest post is from the friend I’ve yet to meet in person. We speak to each other nearly daily via Facebook and Twitter – we share laughs, recipes and stories and we talk about spending time together when our lives finally collide. Until then, she honored me with her gift of words and mixology. This mystery woman – Ilina Ewen writes a wonderful blog called Dirt & Noise and can often be found on Twitter at @ilinap.

Thank you Ilina, for helping me drink this new year away with illusions of beach-side naps and fruity blissful beverages!

******
I haven’t yet met this fellow foodie and cocktail maven on the left coast, though I count her among my friends. I have a hunch that when we meet we could very well gab for hours on end whilst shopping and sipping, leaving little room for breaths and pregnant pauses. Gina perks me up, makes me chuckle, and whets my appetite. I’m dying to pull up a barstool in her kitchen and nosh and toast and laugh.

I imagine Gina has a lovely kitchen. I bet she has really cute aprons too.

A little bird, known as Facebook, told me that Gina will be blowing out candles on a cake this week. Nevermind just how many candles. Since she’s the one who inspired me to start baking from scratch (I’m telling you, her blueberry muffins are sinfully delicious.), I’m pretty sure she’s indulging in a damn good cake. Let’s just say that I’m a better mixologist than a baker. I’ve concocted a little birthday cocktail for my friend Gina.

I’d whisk her away to a blue hued sea with white sand beaches and red pedicures if I could. We’d eat fresh fish, succulent pineapples, and sweet coconut juice. This must sound like a romantic rendezvous to some, but for mothers who work work work, paradise is a beach replete with libations and girlfriends where no one calls us Mommy.

So to toast Gina on her big day, here’s my little taste of paradise. Cheers!

Gina Bina Bobeena

Ingredients
1 ounce dark rum
1 ounce coconut rum
1 ounce banana liqueur
5 ounces pineapple juice
splash of grenadine
pineapple wedge and banana slice for garnish

Directions
Pour first three ingredients over ice in a high ball glass. Add pineapple juice and an ever so slight dash of grenadine. Skewer a pineapple wedge and banana slice to plop in as garnish.

Happy Birthday, Gina!

This past week I reconnected with my Bertolli friends that I met at BlogHer Food. The end result was a fun meal prepared for my foodie family that got rave reviews and triple servings. An hour before I wanted to serve dinner I hit the kitchen grabbed a few bags of Bertolli’s Italian Sausage Stuffed Shells out of the freezer and quickly read the directions on the bag.

It was as simple as 1-2-3. Once the pasta was in the oven baking, I shifted my attention to an asparagus and mushroom recipe adapted from Chef Rocco DiSpirito – Asparagus with Mixed Mushrooms and Fresh Parmesan Cheese. As you can see from the photos, it all looked great and the tastes were on par with the looks of the dish. The nice thing about this veggie dish is that it can be done ahead of time- I did make the mushroom marinade earlier in the day to give the flavors the maxim chance to set-up. The verdict– five empty plates and lots of smiles.

While the pasta cooked for an hour, it took but five minutes to assemble at the start and then five minutes at the end to top with cheese that needed to melt. It was like a night off without the hassle of cooking a rich dish with all of the flavor benefits.

While I really enjoyed Rocco’s vegetable accompaniment, I’ve changed it up a bit while keeping some of the core elements — asparagus and mushrooms! That said, if you wanted to keep it super simple you could pair the Bertolli pasta with a salad and call it done!

Asparagus with Mixed Mushrooms and Fresh Parmesan Cheese

Ingredients
1/2 cup olive oil
2 TBS garlic, finely chopped
1 TBS chives
1 TBS Italian parsley
zest of 1 Meyer lemon
1/4 lb mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed and sliced
1/4 lb oyster mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed and sliced
1/2 lb baby portobello mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed and sliced
16 spears asparagus (1 bunch) or 28 medium spears
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
4 oz Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions
In a medium-size bowl, whisk together oil, shallots, herbs and lemon zest. Season with salt and pepper. Add mushrooms and thyme sprigs and mix well. Let the mushrooms marinate at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator.

Bring soup pot filled with water to a boil and add 2 TBS salt. While water comes to a boil, prepare the asparagus. Trim them by gently breaking the stalks where they naturally snap a few inches from the base. (If using jumbo asparagus, peel them to about 1/2 inch below the tip.) Bundle spears with kitchen twine and cook in the boiling water until they are tender when piecred with a knife, approximately 6 minutes. Discard twine once asparagus has been removed from water.

Heat a large skillet over high heat. Take the mushrooms out of the marinade and place them in the pan, forming a single layer of mushrooms. Be careful not to overcrowd the pan — as Julia Child would tell you, if you do they will not cook properly. Season with salt and pepper and cook until browned and tender. Transfer the mushrooms to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.

When all of the mushrooms have been removed from the pan, add 2 TBS vinegar. Scrape and dissolve any browned bits from the bottom of the pan to make a sauce; pour the sauce over the mushrooms.

Arrange on a serving platter. Top with the mushrooms, juices and shaved Parmesan. (To nicely shave the cheese use a vegetable peeler). Drizzle with a dash of additional olive oil and ground pepper.

E buon appetito!

If you think you would be inspired to learn more about Bertolli you can follow them on Twitter @Bertolli or learn more about Into the Heart of Italy (www.IntoTheHeartOfItaly.com). There was an article that really appealed to my tech-side that hit this week in the New York Times, which referenced this Bertolli/Unilever promotion in regards to how old and new media can work together — if you’ve got a few minutes it is a good read.

For those Twitter-a-holics who just can’t get enough, you can also follow Chef Rocco DiSpirito at @roccodiSpirito.

Mille Grazie a Bertolli for their wine aerator and gift card to purchase a Bertolli Frozen Meal!

While I love to cook and give away my treats, I adore receiving them. When my friend Yasemin Krause @yaseminck presented me with a gift box of these cookies I immediately asked her for the recipe. Graciously, she shared her recipe for these adorable and delicious cookies which seem like the perfect Spring-time indulgence. Aside from being delicious, these cookies would make a wonderful hostess gift or party favor. If you decide to decorate them with frosting I would recommend a combination of white, dark pink and/or royal blue as these colors look great against the dark chocolate coloring of the cookie.

CHOCOLATE SUGAR COOKIES

Cookie Ingredients

2 3/4 cups flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking power
1 cup unsalted butter
1 3/4 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 tsps vanilla

Icing Ingredients

2 large egg whites
2 tsps fresh lemon juice
3 1/2 cups of powdered sugar
Optional: Food coloring

Cookie Directions

In a large-size bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder. Mix well.

In a separate small-size bowl, beat the butter and sugar until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each egg is added. Add vanilla and beat all together. Then add to the flour mixture. Using a large spoon mix until smooth.

Divide dough in half and wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for approximately 2 hours.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Cut cookies in shapes of your choice and place on a non-stick cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes until the outsides of the cookies look crisp.

Cool for 10-20 minutes. Serve as is, with powdered sugar or decorate with frosting.

Icing Directions

In a medium-size bowl, beat the egg whites with the lemon juice.

Add the powered sugar and mix until smooth.

Optional: If using food coloring, add in as much as desired until you get the color of your choice.

Use the icing immediately to prevent the icing becoming too hard to use.