Bowl Licker

My Valentine’s Day gift to you- an impressive and simple meal to show the one(s) you love that Valentine’s Day is not just a night out at some cozy restaurant where you snagged a reservation, or some over-priced flowers, it is more than just ONE day a year and goes well beyond the Hallmark card or cute text you sent. Serve this dish with some nice crusty bread and pass it off to your special guests as if you have worked in the kitchen like a true Olympian. If you are out to impress, hit the print button and take this list to the Super Marche (as they say in France).

Hearty Steak & Portobello Mushroom Stew

Ingredients

1 pound sirloin steak, fat trimmed and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
1/3 cup flour
2 TBS extra-virgin olive oil (using one 1 TBS at a time)
1 medium-size Yukon Gold potato, skin removed and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
6 cups portobello mushroom caps, (approx 6 medium), gills removed (optional)
2 cups frozen pearl onions, thawed
2 plum tomatoes, chopped
2 cups frozen cut green beans, thawed
2 cups reduced-sodium beef broth
1/2 cup red wine
2 tsps chopped fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper

Directions

Place steak in a medium bowl mix with flour stir to coat. Heat olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the steak (reserving excess flour) and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned on the outside but slightly pink on the inside (approximately 3 minutes). Transfer to a plate and and cover with foil to keep warm.

Add the potato and cook until lightly browned. Then add mushrooms, onions and tomatoes to the same pot and cook, until the vegetables have released their juices, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot. Sprinkle the reserved flour over the green beans; stir to coat. Add green beans and stir. Then add broth, wine, thyme, salt and pepper; increase the heat to high and bring to a boil, stirring often.

Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, stirring often, until the broth has thickened, about 5 minutes. Add the steak and any accumulated juices and cook, stirring often, until heated through, about 2 minutes.

So much to love in the next few weeks. Do you love the Super Bowl? Do you love the romance Valentine’s Day? Do you love the one your with? Whatever it is that you love, there are some fun days to prepare for and food is key! Yes- you need to make sure that you have your food ready to go. A fun way to ring in either of those days is to go red, get fired up or go home!

I pulled together a few recipes from the blog to get your Bowl-en-tine juices flowing:

Hot Mess Spiced Nuts (great name, easy to make, just do it!)

Savory Drumettes (a crispy juicy treat -SEE RECIPE BELOW)

Fondue Pasta (Cuz Cheese is a Crowd Pleaser)

Red Velvet Cup Cakes (for the romantics)

or if you need to connect w/your inner chocoholic and need a serious dose of caffeine to offer your guests…..skip the mini cake and opt for these amazing brownies with a twist.

The Ultimate Cappuccino Brownie (chocolate = Good)

Lemon-aid Blur (get the party started, featured drink for party of 2 or 20)

The key here is that all of these things can be done ahead of time. For a Super Bowl you can serve the mac ‘n cheese in small ramekins for easy individual servings; for the V-day meal serve the mac ‘n cheese along side a nice salad.

Whichever event you do – make it memorable. Incorporate cool serving ideas and make 90% of it ahead of time so that you can kick-back and enjoy the meal ….and the beverage!

Sue’s Sumac Drumettes

The best part about this recipe is that there are only three ingredients besides the chicken: seasoned salt, sumac and pepper. To find other delicious dishes from Sue go to www.justforlicks.com

Ingredients

2 pounds chicken drumettes
2 ¼ tablespoons sumac (available at any Mediterranean market)
1 ¼ tablespoons seasoned salt
½ teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
Flat leaf parsley for garnish

Directions

Preheat oven on broil at 500 degrees.

Rinse chicken drumettes in a colander. Set aside. Line a 12 x 18 baking sheet with aluminum foil, covering the sides. This makes for easy clean up and protects your baking sheet from scraping any stuck-on chicken.

Line up the drumettes on the baking sheet making sure they do not touch.

Using half of your ingredients, sprinkle drumettes evenly first with seasoned salt, then sumac, then pepper. For even coating, it may be easier to use your fingers. With tongs, flip them over and repeat on the other side.

Broil on the second level from the top for fifteen minutes – depending on the heat of your oven. They should look dark brown and crispy. Take out of the oven. If there are any fatty drippings on the baking sheet, drain them off in the sink. Turn the chicken over and broil for ten more minutes until dark golden brown and crispy.

These drumettes do not have the texture of buffalo wings, which are slightly gooey. These are crispy and juicy. They are so flavorful that there is no need for any dipping sauce.

>Personal Gina commentary – These drumettes are great as an appetizer or to accompany another dish, like mac ‘n cheese. Just be sure to have your napkins ready because your digits will be messy. WARNING: once you have ONE drumette, you’ll have FIVE more. Just. That. GOOD! <

Despite the fact that it was a cold rainy day North of the Golden Gate Bridge it was not like any other ordinary Sunday because it was Joe Kelly’s birthday brunch. Not only had he and his Sweetheart Ingrid been busily getting the house in order for this celebration, they had also managed to turn out an impressive spread in honor of this auspicious occasion. Aside from the mimosas, the orange currant and blueberry scones and a winter berry fruit salad, they had made QUICHE. While there were three quiche/tart options on display I thought it only just to share with you one recipe each from the two cooks. After all, this WAS history right? This proved that it was a myth that real men don’t eat quiche…because this guy from San Rafael doesn’t just eat it, he makes it…and he’s ALL quite a man. Come to think of it, I’ve even spotted him in a pink polo before so he is up there with the all time myth-busters. Thank you Ingrid and Joe for sharing these recipes with me and my readers.

Caramelized Leek, Goat’s Cheese and Spinach Tart

Pastry Ingredients

8 oz flour

4 oz butter

2-4 TBS Iced water

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place flour and butter in food processor until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. With motor running, add iced water, a little at a time, until pastry comes together. Gather into a ball, cover with plastic wrap, and place in refrigerator for 20 minutes. (While this sets up in the refrigerator, you can start your filling.)

Roll pastry out on lightly floured surface, place into pie dish and trim off excess pastry. Line with baking paper and fill with baking weights or rice. Bake for 15 minutes then remove the weights/rice and the paper and bake for an additional 10 minutes at a reduced temperature of 315 degrees.

Filling Ingredients

2 TBS Olive Oil

1 leek, thinly sliced

1 head fennel, thinly sliced

5 oz baby spinach leaves

2 ½ oz goat’s cheese, crumbled

1/4 cup Swiss cheese, grated

3 eggs, beaten

2/3 cup Half & Half or whip cream

Directions

In a large-size pan, heat oil and then add leek and fennel. Cook over medium heat for 20 minutes or until leeks are caramelized and set aside. Then add the spinach and cook until it wilts. Spread leek and fennel over pastry shell and top with spinach and goat’s cheese. In a medium-size bowl, lightly whisk eggs and add in cream. Blend in the Swiss cheese. Make certain that the ingredients are not too hot before adding the eggs, cream and Swiss cheese. Pour eggs and cream into the pastry shell and bake for 40 minutes or until set.

Basic Quiche

4 eggs, beaten

1 cup Half & Half

2 cups grated cheese, Swiss or Gruyere cheese is fantastic

(see filling recommendations below)

Filling recommendations

· Spinach, mushroom, onion, Swiss cheese. (Saute onion, spinach, and mushrooms separately before adding to egg mixture)

· Broccoli, ham, onion, Cheddar cheese (I ask the the local deli to slice two thick slices of ham to get the correct thickness)

· Bacon & onion (cook bacon and crumble, sweat onions until translucent)

Directions

You will want to either make the pastry dough as above or purchase and pre-cook a pastry shell according to package directions (I do not recommend placing ingredients in an uncooked pie shell, it will become like a sticky paste. Saute or steam any vegetables to be used as filling. In a medium-size bowl mix eggs, Half & Half, cheese. Pour into pastry shell. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until done.

And as for that cold rainy day I mentioned, ya know, the one North of the Golden Gate Bridge? Well this photo captures the feeling pretty well….too good not to share it.

While some of you may imagine that this is a cleaver way to discuss marriage, it is really more about a ‘marriage of food’. That said, I must confess, I had *never* heard about this soup when I lived in Italy – I only discovered this tasty dish a few years ago.

What I can tell you is that the term “wedding soup” is a classic mistranslation of the Italian language, minestra maritata (“married soup”), which is a reference to the fact that green vegetables and meats go well together. Upon further digging, Càrola Francesconis’s masterful ‘La Cucina Napoletana’, dives deeper into the history of this soup-ified dish — she explains:

Minestra Maritata is a traditional Neapolitan greens and meat soup, which owes its name to the fact that the ingredients go well together — si maritano bene, i.e. they are well married. It’s also a very old dish; some food historians say it derives from the Spanish olla podrida (a liquid stew with many meats, link in Spanish) while others say it derives from Roman traditions. The Italian recipes for Minestra Maritata I have seen call for a variety of meats, which are boiled, shredded, and returned to the pot with the greens. The American versions of the recipe often call for meatballs.

Yes, you guessed it- while I am of Italian decent, I AM American. My version of this dish keeps to some of the core concepts and consist of green vegetables (I like to alternate between endive and escarole or cabbage, lettuce, kale, and/or spinach) and meats (usually meatballs and/or sausage but shredded chicken is also a nice substitute) and is mixed into a clear chicken-based broth and finished off with a small sized pasta (such as tubettini or macaroni).

Italian Wedding Soup

Meatball Ingredients

1 lb ground chicken
3/4 lb chicken sausage or mild Italian sausage, casings removed
1 cup white bread crumbs (or two slices of white bread with edges removed
3 cloves garlic, pressed
3 TBS fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 cup Pecorino Romano cheese, finely grated
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese + extra for serving, finely grated
1/4 cup milk
1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten
2 tsps salt
1 tsp ground black pepper

Soup Ingredients

2 TBS olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 ½ cups carrots (approx 3-4 carrots), cut into 1/4 inch pieces
1 cup celery (2-3 stalks), cut into 1/4 inch pieces
12 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 cups small pasta, such elbow macaroni
1/4 cup fresh dill, finely chopped
12 oz baby spinach, washed and trimmed
* crusty bread (optional)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

To make the meatballs, place the ground chicken, sausage, bread crumbs, garlic, parsley, Pecorino, Parmesan, milk, egg, salt, and pepper in a bowl and mix well. Using a heaping teaspoon, drop 1 1/4-inch size meatballs onto a foil lined pan. (This recipe yields approx 40 meatballs.) Bake for 30 minutes, until cooked through and lightly browned. Set aside.

In a medium-large size pot boil water and cook pasta according to package directions. Drain in colander when ready. Ladle pasta into warmed soup bowls, add soup and sprinkle each serving with extra grated Parmesan cheese.

In the meantime, for the soup, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat in a large pot. Add the onion and cook for 3-5 minutes. Then add in the carrots and celery and saute until softened approximately 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken stock and wine and bring to a boil. Stir in the dill and spinach and meatballs and simmer for 3 minutes. Spinach should be wilted. Add salt and pepper to taste.

To serve, place a ladle of pasta in the bottom of each warmed dish. Then add in the soup and sprinkle with a little cheese. Serve with a nice crusty bread. Enjoy!

And for my Italian friends, here is something fun that I found while researching this soup, which I am sure you can appreciate. Anna Amalia, gives three versions of the Italian Wedding Soup recipe — one in Neapolitan, one in Italian, and one in English. It seems that while once quite popular in Naples, Minestra Maritata has fallen from popularity due the long list of ingredients called for, and because it is considered to be a heavy soup by modern standards.

****MINESTRA MARITATA di Anna Amalia *****
‘A menèsta ‘mmaritata

Cu nu poco ‘e tiempe e pacienza putite priparà ‘na pietanza ca è ‘o vanto d ”a cucina napulitana.. addo’ carne e verdura s’ammarìtano.. Oggi poco s’aùsa p”a troppa ‘mbuttitura ca nc”e vo’, ma pe’ chi ‘a vo’ pruvà, ‘a ricetta è chesta ccà:
Mettìte a vòllere cu acqua abbundante ‘n’uòsso ‘e presutto, nu salamino (200 g), custatèlle ‘e puorco (300g), 3 sacicce, ‘na còtena, e mièzu chilo ‘e carne ‘e puorco, ‘e carne ‘e vaccìna, nu’ bello pièzzo, 2 cipolle,’na pastunaca, ddòie cape d’àccio, e facitele còcere pe’ ‘nu paio d’ore. Quanno è cotta, levàte ‘a carne, e, dint’o’ stesso broro, facìte còcere dui chili ‘e verdura ammiscàta, e cioè: cicoria, cappuccia, vruoccòle e vrùcculille, già lavata.Quanno ‘a verdura s’è cotta, sì vulìte magnà tutte cose ‘nsieme, ‘nce menàte ‘a carne ‘a dinto, e si’ nò, v”a magnàte come sicondo piatto. Sotto ‘a menèsta mettìtece pane de’ casa abbrustuluto.

Minestra maritata

Con molto tempo e tanta pazienza potrete realizzare un vecchio vanto della cucina napoletana, e campana in genere: questa minestra in cui carne e verdure si “maritano”.
Oggi è un po’ in disuso per il numero e la scelta degli ingredienti necessari, che ormai non fanno quasi più parte della nostra cucina quotidiana.
Per chi pensa di poterseli procurare, ecco comunque la ricetta: Lessate in abbondante acqua un osso di prosciutto, un salamino di circa 200 g, 300 g di costolette di maiale, tre salsicce, qualche cotica , 500 g. di carne di maiale e un pezzo (5-600 g) di carne di manzo. Unite anche 2 cipolle, 1 carota gialla, due coste di sedano e lasciate cuocere per un paio d’ore. Scolate quindi tutta la carne e tagliatela a pezzi. Nello stesso brodo di cottura delle carni lessate 2 kg di verdure assortite, precedentemente lavate, tra cui la cicoria, la cappuccina, i broccoli e i broccoletti. Quando le verdure saranno cotte, unite anche la carne al brodo, se desiderate mangiare tutto insieme, altrimenti servite la minestra di verdure con dei crostini di pane casereccio abbrustoliti e la carne a parte, come secondo piatto.

Un piccolo consiglio: perché il piatto sia più leggero, bollire da solo l’ osso di prosciutto per qualche minuto, buttare l’acqua di cottura, e poi cucinare il tutto come prevede la ricetta.

“Married” Soup

With a lot of time and patience you can make this old soup recipe, the pride of Neapolitan cooking, where meat and vegetables are “married” togheter. Today, this soup is not very widely used on account of the vast number and choice of the necessary ingredients, which do not play a part anymore in our daily cooking. For those who are able to procure all the ingredients, here is the recipe: boil in lot of water, the bone of a leg of ham, a salame sausage of about 200gms, 300 gms of pork chops, 3 sausages, some pork rind and 500 gms of pork and beef. Also add 2 onions, 1 yellow carrot, 2 sticks of celery. Leave the lot to cook for a couple of hours, then drain the meat and cut into pieces: In the same meat stock, boil about 2 kg of assorted vegetables, amongst which cicory, “cappuccina” i.e. a type of salad, broccoli and brussel sprouts. When the vegetables are well cooked, add the meat to the stock.

While we are nearly mid-way into 2010 I have surprisingly not had the time to post any of my recent cooking adventures- that said, many of the new ‘concepts’ have not been what I would deem as worthy successes. Happily, this morning when I logged onto email a post from my Twitter pal @ilinap hit me as the perfect post. I reached out to her and asked if she would share her thoughts/words/philanthropic outreach/recipe with all of you. Graciously, she said ‘yes!’.

This post is more than just a fun recipe, this post can help a group of people. Each comment on her site earns a dollar to help Haiti and you get to learn a bit more about a wonderful, sweet local beverage. What you may not know is that ‘Dirt and Noise’ has a regular Friday feature called 5:00 Friday where Ilina posts a fun new drink recipe. This week she took that concept and blended together (pun intended) a way to use her Friday indulgence to help others.

A bit of Ilina’s excerpted post:
I grappled with posting today. I mean, I feel kinda lousy throwing back a cool cocktail while millions of people are struggling for a simple glass of water in Port Au Prince, Haiti. It is hard to belt out a guffaw and embrace glee while I know so many people are hurting in the throes of despair. There’s not enough hyperbole to go around to adequately explain the situation down there. A mere 90 miles from our shores.

Today I’d like to use 5:00 Fridays to give a nod to Haiti’s culture. With this drink, you’d better make a couple batches and invite over the neighbors. Better yet, invite the neighbors and collect a cover charge at the door. Donate the cash to the people of Haiti. I’ll even donate a buck to UNICEF for every comment on this post.

This drink is like a delectable milkshake without the hassle of a blender. What I love is that the Haitians like to serve this rich concoction with pastries or cakes. I’m all about indulging my inner sweet tooth (and outer love handles).

Cremas

2 (12 oz) cans of evaporated milk
4 (12 oz) cans of sweetened condensed milk
1 (15 oz) can cream of coconut (NOT to be confused with coconut milk)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
1 anise star
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp grated nutmeg
1 lime (zest and juice)
1/5 80 proof rum (You read that right. A fifth. The whole bottle)

Mix all ingredients together in a large pot and pour into tall glasses filled with crushed ice. Sprinkle with a bit of nutmeg to fancy it up.

I raise a glass to the people of Haiti and all those reaching out and flying in to help them. Peace. Click her to

Thank you Ilina for your post. Friends and family, please click here to comment and donate (at no cost to you) one dollar to Hati.

————————————————————————————————————-
And if you want to do more- there are many ways to contribute (as taken from both Ilina’s site ‘Dirt & Noise‘ and Jane Maynard’s “This Week For Dinner‘:

Unicef

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies: (Text “HAITI” to “90999″ to donate $10 to the Red Cross.)

Haiti Reborn: An local organization accepting donations to help earthquake relief efforts http://www.quixote.org/earthquake

Doctors Without Borders: Another organization already in Haiti and working directly with victims of the earthquake http://doctorswithoutborders.org

Partners in Health: Based in Boston, Partners in Health (PIH) have been working in Haiti for many years to establish rural health clinics http://www.pih.org for more information

Yéle Haiti: Wyclef Jean’s organization. They have many directly-linked projects to community groups in Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas. (You can text “yele” to 501501 to automatically donate $5 to the éle Haiti Earthquake Fund. The 5 bucks will be charged to your regular cell phone bill. It doesn’t get any easier than this.) or you can visit the website http://www.yele.org

While I certainly could bore you with jumping right into my post on how to make a German pancake (which I earnestly tell you is a great new video cook-u-mentory) I thought I would amuse you with a bit of background on the various types of pancakes found in our vernacular (a few of my favorites excerpted from Wikipedia):

Pancake is a batter cake fried in a pan. Pancake may also mean:

* In volleyball, a pancake is a pass technique executed by sliding the hand palm-down on the court during a dive, so that the ball bounces off of the back of the hand
* Pancake makeup is a cosmetic used for heavy coverage and evening out skin tone. In cake form, the make-up is usually applied with a damp cosmetic sponge and dries to a smooth, matte finish. The Max Factor company created pancake make-up in the 1930s as an improvement on easily-smearing greasepaint used on stage.
* In American football, a pancake block denotes the flattening (pushing to the ground) of an opposing lineman by a blocker
* A pancake landing is an emergency aircraft landing maneuver where the craft drops flat onto the ground from a low altitude
* In the arts, a “pancake” is a platform 1/8 the size of an apple box
* In construction, “pancaking” refers to the collapse of floors in a building, one on top of the other, in a manner which resembles a stack of pancakes.
* In professional wrestling, a pancake is another variated name for the professional wrestling maneuver Flapjack

That covers the random pancake disambiguation segment of this post. Now onto the cook-u-mentory on Sarah’s German pancakes.

Lower Saxony German Pancakes (AKA Pfannkuchen Fischkopf)

Ingredients

6 eggs
6 TBS sugar
1 cup milk
4 TBS flour
1 tsp water
pinch of salt
2 -4 TBS butter (to coat pan, do not use all at once)
2 bananas, sliced (optional)
1 container strawberries, sliced (optional)
4 kiwi fruit, sliced (optional)
chocolate sauce or Nutella (optional)
jam (optional)
chocolate candy, cut into small squares (optional)
powdered sugar (optional)

Directions

In medium size bowl add eggs and mix well with hand whisk. Add sugar, milk, flour, and water. Continue to stir until there are no lumps of flour remaining, approximately 2 minutes. Add in salt and do a final mix. Set aside.

Prepare fruit and other toppings and place in bowls.

On medium heat, butter a medium-large size pan. Spread batter evenly around the pan. When edges begin to pull away from side, flip pancake over. Place pancakes in warm oven on plate until all of the batter has been used. Serve with desired toppings. Roll up and eat with hands or fork and knife!

Sidebar: I’ve learned from Sarah that often times people from Lower Saxony are called Fish-Heads or Fischkopf. These lovely pancakes are anything but fishy They are quite similar to a crepe and seem like more of a dessert treat than a meal although I am told that this is a favorite lunchtime meal.

Feijoa – A waxy green fruit about 3″ long. Although it is not a guava you may know it as a Pineapple Guava. Feijoa sellowiana is an evergreen shrub which grows to approximately 10-16 ft. It typically thrives in subtropical regions but is hardy and once established will tolerate moderate frosts. This peculiar fruit is either eaten raw (with or without the skin) or made into jellies, sauces and chutneys. As you may have guessed, this post is one for the Aussies & Kiwis…unless you know someone with a Fejoa Tree (yes, I DO)!

Gorgeous Feijoa Almond Coffee Cake

Cake Ingredients

6 TBS butter, softened
1/2 cup honey
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup Feijoa (pineapple guava) puree
2 cups flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsps ground ginger
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup almonds, sliced
crystallized ginger slices, finely chopped (optional)
whip cream (optional)

Cocoa Crumble Streusel Topping Ingredients
1 1/2 cups flour
1/8 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 TBS cocoa powder
1 tsp allspice
1/2 cup (1 cube) butter, softened

Cake Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Coat a 9-inch round cake tin with cooking spray.

Cut fruits in half and remove soft center with a teaspoon. Mash Fejoa until it becomes pulp.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and honey. Add eggs one at a time, then add vanilla. Fold in fruit pulp.

In a medium size bowl, sift flour and add in salt, ginger, baking powder and baking soda. Add into butter mixture. Fold in milk.

Spread into prepared pan and bake 15 minutes.

Struesel Crumble Directions
To make the streusel topping, add the flour, sugars, cocoa powder and allspice to a medium bowl. Rub in the butter until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Mix butter and dry ingredients until fully combined. Set aside.

Remove cake from oven and sprinkle almonds over cake followed by the streusel topping. (Finely chopped crystallized ginger may be placed on top of cake.) Bake for another 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into middle of cake comes out clean. Let cool 15 minutes to set-up.

Serve with fresh whip cream and freshly pulped Fejoas.

To say that I’ve been thinking about this pie for a few weeks would be an outright lie. I’ve been contemplating this concoction for over three months. Last night, I couldn’t take *thinking* about it any longer, I had to rally and it was worth the effort. The wafting fragrance was to me in one word, Christmas. It smelled like Christmas…let me know if this tangy pie reminds me of your holiday. Enjoy!

Fresh Pear Ginger-Spiced Cranberry Brown Sugar Streusel PIE

Streusel Ingredients

1 cup flour
1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt (omit if using salted butter)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
whip cream or vanilla ice cream (optional)

Pear Filling Ingredients

3 lbs (5-6 medium size) Anjou or Bartlett pears
2 TBS lemon juice, fresh squeezed
2/3 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups cranberries, fresh or thawed frozen
1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 TBS crystallized ginger, finely chopped

Crust Ingredients

To save time, buy ready made 9-inch deep dish pie crust and cook according to package directions. Alternatively, you can make the crust with this recipe. This pie dough can be made ahead and refrigerated overnight or can be frozen for 3 months. If frozen, thaw the night before using or at least 6 hours before. The secret to a perfect pie crust _ _ _ _ _ _ (BUTTER)! If making crust from scratch, please scroll down to the bottom of this post for the directions and be certain to make this before you start the filling to minimize the fruit from forming excessive liquid in the waiting process.

1 1/3 cups flour
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt (omit if using salted butter)
8 TBS unsalted butter, cold and cut into 3/4-inch pieces
3 to 4 TBS ice water

Directions- pie filling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, position rack in center of oven.

Peel and core the pears. Cut length-wise into 8 wedges and then slice cross-wise into 1/2-inch slices. (End result should be approximately 7 cups of fruit). In large bowl, add the sliced pears and lemon juice.

In a food processor, pulse the cranberries with the sugar until coarsely chopped. Add this into the pear mixture.

In small-size bowl, add the flour, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg and crystallized ginger. Mix together well. Add the dry ingredients into the pears and toss well to combine.

Place cooked pie crust on a foil lined baking sheet. Mound the pear filling into the pie crust.

Directions- brown sugar streusel

In a medium-size bowl, combine all dry ingredients. Using your fingers blend the softened butter into the mixture. The mixture will be somewhat firm. Sprinkle the streusel over the pear filling and press it into the top of the pie filling in all of the open spaces. (Note: If you crumble the topping vs. gently pressing it onto the pie filling it will spill over.)

Bake pie 40 minutes and then rotate. The pie filling should become bubbly and the red color evident in through the streusel. Return pie to oven and cook for another 25-30 minutes. (Note: If the crust or streusel browns before the filling has thickened, loosely cover the top or edges of the pie with either a bit of aluminum foil or a pie shield.)

Cool approx 45-60 minutes before serving. For extra bonus calories, top the slice of warm pie with fresh whip cream or ice cream. Depending on the preference this recipe yields 6-8 servings. Pie is best stored at room temp for up to 2 days, in cool conditions.

Directions- pie crust (for the die hards)

In a medium-size bowl, add flour, sugar and salt mixing well. Add the butter by rubbing the chunks between fingers (smearing the butter into the flour mixture). The consistence should be flaky.

Drizzle 3 TBS of cold water over the flour mixture. Dough needs to hold itself together, if it doesn’t then add an additional 1 TBS of water.

With well floured hands, form the dough into a disk and wrap it in plastic wrap. Chill for at least 1 hour, best if it can chill for up to 4 hours.

Before rolling out the dough, allow to sit at room temperature to soften slightly. Depending on how long the dough was chilled this will take between 5-20 minutes. Be certain to roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface- rolling ‘around the clock’ (in a center out to edges in a clockwise direction is usually best). Dough should be 13 to14-inches in diameter and 1/8-inch thick. (Note: only add extra dusting flour as needed as this will make the crust thicker and clunky).

Gently transfer the dough to a 9-inch pie dish, trimming any overhanging dough. To get a thick edge crust, roll the dough under itself into a cylinder form on the rim of the dish. Crimp edges if you like the extra flair.

Using a fork, prick the sides and bottom of the crust. Refrigerate about 1 hour until firm.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees, position rack in center of oven. Line the chilled pie crust with aluminum foil and fill it with the contents from a few bags of dried beans or pie weights. Bake for 15 minutes and then remove the foil/beans or weights. Reduce heat to 375 degrees. Bake approximately 5-7 minutes longer until bottom of crust looks dry but is not browned. Allow to cool 10 minutes before filling. A dry crust will minimize ending up with a wet soggy crust when filled.

It doesn’t get more authentic than this and no puddles of cheese are necessary. Thin layers of fried eggplant with a light marinara sauce make up this classic dish. Breaking from my usual Sicilian-self I’ve eliminated the extra breadcrumb calories. Aside from the obvious benefits of a lower calorie count this Eggplant Parmigiana dish has another benefit — it can be served as a first course, vegetable side dish or even a main course.

Ingredients

2 1/2 lbs eggplant (approx 2 large or 4 small eggplants), skin and ends removed
3 cups + 3 TBS olive oil (can use 1/2 vegetable and 1/2 olive oil)
5 cloves garlic, peeled and cut in half
3 1/2 lbs plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped (can substitute 2 28 oz cans diced tomatoes, drained)
12 large basil leaves, washed/dried/sliced
8 oz fresh wet mozzarella, torn into 1/4 inch pieces
1 1/2 cup (approximately 3 1/4 oz) Parmigiano-Reggiano
kosher salt
salt and pepper, to taste
2 TBS garlic salt
1 TBS Italian Seasoning

Directions

Take the eggplants and begin to prepare by first removing the ends and then removing the skin. Cut each eggplant crosswise into 1/4-inch thick slices. Cover the sides and the bottom of a colander with a few eggplant slices and sprinkle generously with kosher salt. The salt will draw out the water and reduce the eggplant’s ability to absorb oil. Top with more layers of eggplant and salt until you run out of slices. Fill a large pot with water and place the colander with the eggplant in it, weighting it down with a heavy bowl. This will keep the eggplant from turning brown. Bathe the salted eggplant in the water for 30-60 minutes.

While eggplants are in the water begin to make the sauce. Heat 3 TBS of olive oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until just golden and fragrant, approximately 2-5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and/or the diced tomatoes with 1/2 tsp salt. Raise the heat to medium-high and stir occasionally until the tomatoes begin to break down into a sauce consistency. If using canned tomatoes it will take 10 minutes however, if using fresh tomatoes it should take 20-25 minutes. (Note: When using fresh tomatoes the sauce tends to dry up before the tomatoes have properly been broken down. In this instance you will want to add warm water, 1 TBS at a time.) Lower the heat to medium, add in the garlic salt and Italian Seasoning. Continue cooking tomatoes 5-10 minutes until the sauce becomes thick and chunky sauce as if there is too much liquid the sauce will make the final dish watery. Turn off the heat, remove the garlic and stir in the basil leaves. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Allow the eggplant to drain and pat dry each slice so to avoid dangerous hot oil splattering when it is time to fry the eggplant. It is easiest to do this by lining a baking sheet with paper towels and putting a few slices on it. Top with another paper towel and add in a few more slices, repeating until no slices remain.

To fry the eggplant, fill a 3-4 quart sauce pan or pot with the remainder of the oil and heat to 275 degrees (this can be checked with a candy thermometer or if you don’t have a candy thermometer cut a small edge of one eggplant and dip it into the oil – if it sizzles immediately, the oil is ready.) I find that using a pot vs a sauce pan does reduce some of the oil splatter around the kitchen but can be a bit more dangerous when turning/browning the eggplant slices. When adding in the eggplant be certain not to crowd the pot/pan. Cook, turning only once, until golden brown on the other side. It is important to work quickly when frying and turning the eggplant and I recommend a slotted metal spoon or metal tongs. The second side always cooks quicker so watch carefully once turned onto the second side. Once cooked to desired brown color, drain-off as much oil as possible. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with paper towels. Repeat until all of the slices are fried, layering the refried eggplant between the paper towels.

Using a 8×10-inch baking dish, layer about 1/3 of the eggplant slices so they overlap slightly on the bottom. Next layer the marinara sauce over the eggplant, make sure to cover. Evenly sprinkle half of the mozzarella and then 1/3 cup Parmigiano cheese. Repeat for the second layer then for final layer put more tomato sauce and Parmesan cheese over the remaining eggplant slices.

Bake in preheated oven at 450 degrees on a rack positioned in the center of the oven until the cheese has melted evenly and the top is bubbly with browned edges. Cooking time is approximately 20-25minutes. Let rest for at least 10 minutes before serving to allow the cheese to become a bit more firm before serving so that it doesn’t fall apart when transferring from baking dish to plate.

As a main dish this serves four as a side dish it serves six.

Wherever did the Marsh find the Mallow? As history reports, the earliest recorded “confection” to have utilized the root sap of the Marsh Mallow was a simple recipe of nuts and honey prepared by the ancient Egyptians in 2000 B.C. It is believed that this confection was reserved solely for the enjoyment of Egyptian pharaohs and the Gods they worshiped.

By the early 1900′s, marshmallows were available for mass consumption and began appearing in American five-and-dime stores. Marshmallows quickly became an integral part of American desserts and side dishes, sweet treats (such as ambrosia, s’mores, Rice Krispies Treats) and, of course, as a condiment to hot chocolate.

Americans are believed to be the largest consumers of marshmallows, followed only by the French. Pâté de guimauve is traditionally shaped in the form of long thick ropes or “lanyards”. French confectioners have been known to display these lanyards in beautiful tall glass apothecary jars. Some of the most exclusive Parisian restaurants are said to offer guimauve as a post-dessert, finishing touch to a meal. The lanyards are “snipped with a flourish by the waiter” into small “pillows” at the patron’s table.

I took my first dive into what I used to consider a baking ingredient. And well, my pillows tasted just like the store bought ones only they were square. If that wasn’t enough, I had to up the anti and make the s’more a bit more I-talian. How you ask, with a simple flick of the wrist into the Nutella jar the damage was done…oh wait, and then a splash of chunky peanut butter on top of my home made marshmallows, gently broiled, and slathered onto a graham cracker. The result = sticky fingers, an added increment to my waste line and a nice gooey smile on my face. T’was all good.

Fluffy Squishy Puffy Marshmallows
Adapted from Gourmet, December 1998

Ingredients

1 cup confectioners’ sugar
3 1/2 envelopes (2 tablespoons plus 2 1/2 teaspoons) unflavored gelatin
1 cup cold water, divided into 1/2 cup
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large egg whites
1 TBS + 1 tsp vanilla (favorite substitutions: 2 tsps mint or orange extract)
food coloring (optional)

Directions

Take a paper towel and lightly oil the bottom and sides of a 13x9x2″ rectangular metal baking pan. Use a colander or sifter with a small amount of powdered sugar to dust bottom and sides of the pan.

In the standing electric mixer bowl, add 1/2 cup of very cold water and sprinkle gelatin over water, being careful not to let all of the gelatin clump in one place. Let stand to soften. (If you do not have a standing electric mixer you can do this first step in a large bowl).

In a medium-size (approximately 3-quart) heavy saucepan over low heat add sugar, corn syrup, second 1/2 cup of cold water, and salt stirring with a wooden spoon or candy spatula, until sugar is dissolved. Increase to medium-high heat and boil, without stirring, until candy thermometer registers 240 degrees, approximately 12 minutes. Remove pan from heat and pour sugar mixture over gelatin mixture, stirring until gelatin is dissolved.

With standing or a hand-held electric mixer beat mixture on high speed until white, thick, and nearly tripled in volume, about six minutes if using standing mixer or about 10 minutes if using hand-held mixer. (The hand held mixer does tend to take a little longer and might even need to go beyond 10 minutes.)

In separate medium-size bowl with cleaned beaters whip egg whites until stiff peaks are formed when the beaters are removed. Gently beat whites and vanilla (or other flavoring) into sugar mixture until just combined. Pour mixture into the oiled baking pan. Sift 1/4 cup confectioners sugar evenly over top. Chill marshmallow in the refrigerator, uncovered, until firm, approximately three hours, and not longer than one day.

To remove from pan, run a thin knife around edges and invert pan onto a large cutting board. Lifting up (or peeling back) one corner of inverted pan, with dry fingers to loosen the marshmallow and ease it out of the pan and onto cutting board. With a large knife, or oiled pizza cutter, trim edges of marshmallow and cut marshmallow into roughly two-inch cubes (you can cut them smaller but I love these large oversize pillows of candy). Sift remaining confectioners’ sugar back into your now-empty baking pan, and roll the marshmallows through it, dusting all sides.

Makes about 48 2-inch cubed marshmallows.

Keep marshmallows keep in an airtight container at cool room temperature for 1-2 weeks.