Gnocchi Alla Romana

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Unlike the gnocchi which you are most familiar with and which is commonly made with potatoes Gnocchi Alla Romana is made with semolina flour.  In Marcella Hazan’s “The Classic Italian Cookbook,” she mentions that this dish can be traced back directly to Imperial Rome. Apicius, the Roman gourmet who lived during the 1st century, had a recipe for gnocchi made of semolina exactly like these, then fried and served with honey. These are made the same way, but baked in the oven with freshly grated parmesan cheese and butter and are as light as can be.

It makes for a great first course or primi after which you can serve any meat or fowl.  I actually like it the way it was suggested in Williams Sonoma's site, accompanied by Roman Style meatballs.

The entire dish can be made ahead up to 2 days, before baking, if it is refrigerated and covered with plastic wrap.


Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:

•1 cup semolina

•1 quart (1 liter) milk

•1 brimming cup grated Parmigiano plus more for sprinkling over

•7 TBs unsalted butter

•2-3 egg yolks

•Salt

Preparation:

Bring the milk to a boil, and gradually stir in the semolina, stirring constantly to prevent lumps and keep the mixture from sticking to the pot. The mixture will become quite thick; continue cooking and stirring for about 20 minutes, and remove the pot from the fire. Beat the yolks with a little more milk, and add them to the semolina, together with 2/3 cup of the cheese,  2 TB butter, and a pinch of salt. Mix well and spread the mixture a little less than a half an inch thick  on your work surface.

Let the semolina cool for 2 hours, and with a biscuit cutter cut it into rounds.

Butter a square pan and layer the disks in it, overlapping like roof tiles.  spread a little more grated cheese between the layers (there should be 3-4). When all the rounds have been used up, dot the gnocchi with the remaining butter and add the rest of the grated cheese. Use more cheese if you need to.

Bake the gnocchi 15 minutes in a hot (400 F or 200 C) oven, until golden, and serve at once. If a crust hasnt formed, raise the temperature to 500 and bake another 5 minutes.

Let rest for about 5 minutes before serving.

Adapted from Marcella Hazan

RIP Steve Jobs- The Greatest Visionary Of Our Time

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"The only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle"  Steve Jobs

Apple founder Steve Jobs died tonight at age 56 after a long fight with pancreatic cancer. He was the greatest mind of our generation.  There a very few people who have made an impact on our lives the way he did.  May he rest in peace.

Guess Who's Coming For Lunch...

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I guess Fall is the time of the year to entertain distinguished guests.  Almost a year ago, on a visit to New York City, I had the pleasure of cooking for my dearest friend Reggie Darling. This year, I am thrilled to be making lunch this Sunday for another dear friend, Blue from The Blue Remembered Hills,  a popular blog here in Atlanta.  Blue, the Celt and I have been meeting for dinners in several restaurants in Atlanta but this will be the first time that both of them will be entertained by Lindaraxa at her home.

Believe it or not, it is difficult to choose a menu for first time guests, particularly when they are readers of your blog.  So many things to choose from...that's what usually drives me crazy.  In Reggie's case I narrowed it down to the fact that he was coming back from a weekend at Darlington Hall and New Yorkers love nothing more than comfort food on a Sunday night.  What better than  lasagna bolognese and apple crisp for dessert.  A strange combination but apples were in season.

This time I asked the guests to choose a menu.  French, Italian, German or Cuban.  It never fails that they will opt for Cuban and seeing that it's Sunday lunch and not dinner it is the perfect choice.  So I sent another email...picadillo or pork and black beans?  They replied, both! Well, unless it's the last dinner or you are angling for cardiac arrest both is not an option.  So after much soul searching and back and forth consultations amongst each other they chose the pork and black beans.  So here's the menu:

A Cuban Lunch At The Lake

Chorizo in Sherry And Onions

Manchego Cheese

Yucca Chips

Roast Pork Tenderloin, Marinaded in Adobo Sauce 

Black Beans and White Rice

Baked Plantains with Brown Sugar, Cinnamon and Sherry

Green Salad

Caramel Flan

Baked Meringues

Cuban Coffee

It is going to be a glorious day tomorrow with temperatures in the 60's and no clouds. You couldn't ask for more. Everything is ready and all that is left is a bath for Lucy, the sous chef, to meet her Scottish friends!



Who? Me? Bath? WHY???!!

 

Plates from Gien, France

photos Lindaraxa

Mashed Potatoes My Way

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A dish doesn't have to be complicated to be heavenly.  Take mashed potatoes.  I have been making them the way my mother taught me since I started cooking.  They are simple and fast but everyone raves about them, particularly guests.  I think it has to do primarily with the kind of potatoes I use.  Unlike most recipes that call for Yukon gold, I use Idaho baking potatoes and I whip them with butter and hot milk.  My mother swears it's the white pepper. I think it's the type of potato and the whipping.  Whatever...

There is nothing like Yankee Pot Roast or Meatloaf with mashed potatoes.  Nothing.

Serves 4 - 6


Ingredients

Use baking potatoes, or Russets, for best texture. 

•4 large Russet, or baking potatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks

•1/2 cup milk , or more to taste

•1/4 cup butter

•3/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

•1/4 teaspoon white pepper

Directions:

Place potatoes in a 4-quart saucepan or Dutch oven; bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.

Drain potatoes thoroughly.  Transfer to mixer bowl. Add butter, white pepper and salt to the bowl. In the same pan you boiled potatoes add milk and warm up. Beat potato mixture until light and creamy.  Slowly add the hot milk until you get the consistency you want.  Continue beating for another minute or 2 until they are fluffy.  Serve.

Rustic Plum Tart

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Now that the cooler weather is upon us, it's time to get back to Sunday dinners with the family.  This is the perfect dessert.

The star here is the buttery free-form crust which, together with a lucious fruit filling, makes the perfect seasonal dessert. Don't roll the crust out too thin to prevent leakage which was a common complain in the original recipe. If it does, no problem...it's supposed to be rustic!


6 to 8 servings

Ingredients

For crust

2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

5 tablespoons (about) ice water

For filling

1 1/2 pounds red-skinned plums, sliced

1/3 cup plum jam or preserves

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

3 tablespoons sugar

1 egg, beaten to blend (for glaze)

Vanilla frozen yogurt or ice cream


Preparation

Make crust:

Mix flour, sugar and salt in processor. Add butter and cut in using on/off turns until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add water by tablespoonfuls and process just until moist clumps form. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled. Let soften slightly at room temperature before rolling.)

Preheat oven to 375°F. Roll out dough on large sheet of floured parchment paper to 1/4-inch-thick round. Trim dough to 14-inch diameter. Transfer dough on parchment paper to large baking sheet (edges of dough may hang over edges of baking sheet).

Make filling:

Mix plums, jam, vanilla, and allspice in large bowl. Mound plum mixture in center of dough, leaving 3-inch border. Sprinkle fruit with 2 tablespoons sugar. Fold dough border over fruit, pleating loosely and pinching to seal any cracks. Bush dough with beaten egg. Sprinkle dough with 1 tablespoon sugar.

Bake tart until crust is brown and filling bubbles, about 45 minutes. Transfer baking sheet to rack and cool tart slightly, about 20 minutes. Slide metal spatula under all sides of crust to free from parchment. Using large tart pan bottom as aid, transfer tart to platter. Serve warm or at room temperature

Check out the recipe for Plum Crumble in the lake blog.


 photo steve giralt

Bucatini With Mushroom Ragu

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Now that Fall is almost here and the nights are somewhat cooler, it's time to change gears and concentrate on the Autumn harvest.  I am sad to see our local fresh market shift from peaches and tomatoes to pumpkins and squash for I know that before the month is over, the tents will come down at least until the Spring.  If truth be told, though, I am getting tired of the peaches in spite of the fact that it has been one of the best harvests I can recall.

Pennsylvania  is the top-producing mushroom state in the United States, and celebrates September as "Mushroom Month".  It's incredible what you learn when you write a food blog and have to come up with seasonal recipes for your readers! That I didn't know...

If you can't find fresh mushrooms at your supermarket, dry ones are great and available all year long.  They should be in every serious cook's well stocked pantry for sauces and quick meals such as this.  For this sauce,  try to use at least three different types of mushrooms and experiment with a couple you haven't tried before.

While I prefer the thicker bucatini to spaghetti in this recipe, I realize the former is not usually available at most grocery stores in this country.  You can substitute spaghetti, linguini or pappardelle but stay away from bows and shells.  Remember the shape of the pasta is important depending on the sauce you use! 

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 small carrot, finely chopped

1 small celery stalk, finely chopped

1 small onion, finely chopped

3 1/2 ounces prosciutto (sliced 1/8-inch-thick), cubed

1 1/4 pound mixed mushrooms, such as shimeji, shitake, chanterelle, trumpet or blue foot, trimmed and halved

1/4 cup vegetable broth

1/4 cup water

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 pound bucatini or spaghetti

1/2 cup, plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream

Instructions

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add carrot, celery, onion and prosciutto; reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened, about 7 minutes. Add mushrooms, broth, water, and pinch salt and pepper; stir gently to combine. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook, stirring once or twice, until mushrooms are very tender, about 30 minutes.

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente. While pasta is cooking, place cream in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer; remove from heat. Drain pasta, transfer to a large serving bowl, add hot cream and mushroom mixture, and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper, and serve immediately.


Recipe and photo from La Cucina Italiana

Empanaditas de Guayaba... Baked Cuban Guava Pastries

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You could say that guava is the national fruit of Cuba.  We eat it morning, noon and night.  There is nothing like stopping at a Cuban joint mid morning and getting a cup of Cuban coffee with a small guava pastry.  I had an uncle who ate nothing else for dessert but guava paste* with cream cheese and Cuban crackers.  Every single night. My personal favorite is guava shells in syrup with cream cheese but these little guava pastries are a very close second.


Unlike the guava pastries you buy from street vendors or coffee shops which have a flaky "millefeuille" type of pastry and are called pastelitos, the ones we make at home are baked in a pie like crust...with cream cheese!  For some reason which I haven't been able to decipher, the kind sold in the streets are not made at home and these you can't find on the streets.  Go figure

This is my mother's recipe and the one I have been making for years.  It is so easy, you can make it with your eyes closed.  The only drawback is you must make the dough the day before and refrigerate for 24 hrs. If you think of them at the last minute, you can't make them that day.

Tomorrow night we have a friend of my daughter's for dinner.  He is studying at the Cordon Bleu to be a chef.  When I asked him what he wanted for dinner, without missing a beat, he said Cuban.  That is always the case when I ask and it is a wise choice.  Cuban food is at its best when cooked at home; so find yourself a Cuban friend who will make it for you.  The menu tomorrow? Picadillo with white rice, green banana chips and Cuban Guacamole salad.  I think these guava pastries will make a great dessert.

I will prepare a full dough recipe today, use half for the guava empanadas tomorrow, and freeze the other half to make savory empanadas  (with leftover picadillo) at a later date. They are great for cocktails or to bring along on a picnic.


 Ingredients

 3 cups flour
 1/2 lbs. butter
 1 regular cream cheese

 2 egg yolks

 guava paste*

Directions:

Prepare the dough the day before.  Mix everything except the guava in a food processor or with a pastry blender.  The dough will look like pie dough. 

Roll into a ball, wrap in Saran Wrap and refrigerate overnight.  If you are saving some for a later date, divide the dough and put  half in the freezer.

Bring the dough out and let it sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes.  Roll it out using a floured rolling pin to about 1/8 inch thick.

 Cut the dough into circles, with a cookie cutter or small bowl. (I use a coffee cup). Size the circle according to how large you want your empanadas. I like a 4-inch diameter circle.

Put a small quantity of guava paste in the center of the circle (about 1/2 inch square) and fold over to make a half circle. Don't over-fill!

 Seal the edges with a fork to make a scalloped edge. Pierce them once in the middle with the fork tines.

 Brush with egg yolk and place in preheated 350 degree oven until brown... about 30 minutes, depending on your oven.

 * you can find guava paste in the Latin section of most grocery stores or order online

Guava paste is a combination of guava pulp, sugar, pectin and citric acid, which is cooked slowly until exceedingly thick and rich. It comes in individually wrapped bars that are firm enough to slice. Guava paste can be found in Latin markets and some specialty gourmet stores. Slice and serve this low-fat, low-cholesterol sweet as a snack or with cheese for dessert.

Photos Google