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ricotta gnocchi

Two quick gnocchi anecdotes:

1. In Argentina (where Jordan and I lived for a wonderful while), it is traditional to serve gnocchi on the 29th of every month. Gnocchi are apparently good luck. This is how it goes … You serve the gnocchi to your family on the 29th.  Under someone’s plate you hide a peso. The person who finds the peso has extra good luck for the coming month. Jordan and I never remember to eat them on the 29th, but I still love the idea.

2. When we had the most amazing, wonderful, perfect meal of our lives at Chez Panisse last year for our anniversary, we were served ricotta gnocchi in one of the courses. They were delicious!

Both of these stories (and finding a recipe in Judy Rodger’s Zuni Cafe cookbook) encouraged me to make my own homemade ricotta gnocchi. Here is a photo essay detailing the adventure. If you want to attempt yourself, consult Judy’s recipe. She does an incredible job explaining how to make them.

In a kichenaid mixer, beat eggs, ricotta, lemon zest and salt really well until it is light and fluffy. Then start “rolling” the gnocchi, using a spoon and your fingers.

Forming the gnocchi with a spoon.

Coating the little guys with flour.

Placing them on a another baking sheet to chill and firm up before cooking.

Ricotta gnocchi, home-make chicken broth and wild mushroom (black trumpet and maitake to be specific) soup!

Conclusions: While a bit tricky to make, the gnocchi were light and delicious. It was really fun and we have a bunch left in the freezer. The soup was great, but I think next time I’ll just try them sautéed in butter like Judy recommends, as to not overpower the delicate ricotta flavor.

-Emily

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sushi

There’s something really special about good sushi that Emily and I both enjoy.  When you’ve got perfect rice and super fresh fish, you get something so amazing that you almost forget there’s no bacon involved.  Unfortunately, maintaining an addiction to sushi can easily get out of control, and before you know it you’re deciding between paying rent and going for that extra plate of chirashi.  What does one do in such a dilemma?  Well, I’ve been making it myself about once a week since our hiatus began, and I think the results have been pretty tasty and relatively cheap.

rice:

Making perfect sushi rice is a craft that is mastered over many, many years.  Seeing as I’ve made it about half a dozen times, I’m not going to pretend that I’m doing everything right, nor am I going to pretend that I can teach those reading everything there is to know about sushi.  I will give some basics that have helped me make rice that is at least as good as a decent sushi bar.  First, you need rice specifically for sushi; this means short grain.  Short grain rice has a lot of starch, so it needs to be rinsed so it’s not too sticky.  I like to put two cups of sushi rice in a bowl, add about four cups of cold water, and run my fingers through the rice to separate all the grains so each is rinsed.  Then you run it through a sieve and repeat.  You’ll see a lot of cloudy water come off at first, but after about 4-6 times, the water becomes much clearer.  I know this seems excessive, but this is crucial to have the proper texture.  Next you let the rice drain in the sieve for about 20-30 minutes, then you throw it in a heavy sauce pan and add enough cold water to cover the rice by about 0.5 in.  Let the rice soak for 30 minutes, then heat until it boils, lower to a bare simmer and cover for 20 minutes.  Then it’s done right?  No way!  Don’t open that lid during the 20 minutes, or for 15 minutes after because the steam continues to cook the rice.  Once the rice is done cooking you cool the rice quickly by putting it into a large, non-reactive container and stir it gently with a wooden spoon.  Having a friend fan the rice helps cool it faster.  As you cool the rice, add  the sushi-zu to taste.

sushi-zu:

Sushi-zu is the seasoned rice vinegar used to give sushi rice that delicious balance of sour, sweet, and salty.  I’m sure there is some perfect balance of the ingredients, but I mix them according to my preferences.  In a small saucepan, slowly heat 0.25 cup of unseasoned rice wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons of sugar, and 2 teaspoons of salt.  As soon as the salt and sugar dissolve it’s done and you can let it cool before adding it to the rice.

fish:

Now that you’ve got your rice under control, it’s time to get some good fish.  As long as you get fresh, quality seafood from a reputable fish monger you should be safe.  I tend to trust Whole Foods, Sun Fat Seafood, and Nijiya Market.  Nijiya Market is a pretty awesome store in Japantown; they carry really obscure ingredients as well as high quality seafood.  So far I’ve only bought salmon, ahi, and octopus and all were excellent.  I’ve also been tempted by their uni (sea urchin roe) and toro (fatty tuna), but that’s when the habit starts getting pricy.  This place is really cool and worth checking out even if you don’t buy anything.

sushi:

Fish and rice.  That’s all you really need.  If you want to get funky and make some rolls, that’s cool too; that’s just not what I like about sushi.  My favorite thing to make is chirashi (sashimi scattered over rice) as it’s really easy to make and eat.  Overall, making sushi is really fun as well as a bargain; it’s also easy to tweak what you’re doing to keep improving.  If anyone out there is even remotely interested in making their own sushi, I highly recommend it.

-Jordan

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baking therapy: nonnie’s carrot cake

Because I’ve neglected you all for so long, I’ll start this out right … with a Nonnie recipe. As many of you know, Nonnie’s recipes aren’t something I’ll put out there just any time or make for just anyone … they are unfailingly that good.

This carrot cake is perfect. Moist, delicately spiced, and easy to make. The cream cheese frosting is also divine, and good on just about anything!

Nonnie’s Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
1 1/2 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 t each baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon
1/2 t each ginger, nutmeg, salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup crushed pineapple in juice
1 cup carrot, grated
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
2/3 cup oil
1 t vanilla

Preheat an over to 350 degrees and grease a 7″ by 11″ pan. Mix dry ingredients. Add eggs, pineapple, carrot, pecans, oil and vanilla. Beat 2 minutes.

Pour into greased pan. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes. Cool and frost.

Cream Cheese Frosting
4 oz cream cheese, softened
4 T butter, softened
1 t vanilla
dash of salt
2 1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted (especially if you live in damp SF)

Cream butter, cream cheese, vanilla and salt until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Frost just about anything and I guarantee you’ll love it!

-Emily

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aioli

There’s nothing better than a creamy, flavorful sauce to dip just about anything into.  Some of my favorites include chimicurri (great on steaks), romesco, and the topic of this post: aioli.  Aioli is a type of mayonnaise made with garlic, lemon, and olive oil.  In Provence, it’s typically made very slowly by a little old lady with a mortar and pestle until a creamy sauce results from the emulsive powers of the egg and garlic.  In our modern world, we have the benefit of using food processors and immersion blenders to achieve a similar sauce in much less time.  I’ve made aioli many times, usually with great success, but there have been a few failures along the way.  I’ll share them with you so you don’t make the same mistakes.

Failure #1: Avoid any recipe that calls only for olive oil.  This was my first mistake.  The result will be a lovely, creamy sauce that is bitter and inedible.  Not to mention you just used about $5 in extra virgin olive oil on this mess.

Failure #2: Don’t rush.  While you don’t have to sit there for an hour like the old lady in France, you still need to take your time, especially with the first drops of oil you add.  This is where (pardon the pun) you make or break your sauce.

Failure #3: Go easy on the garlic.  One clove doesn’t sound like much (at least to me), but it is.  The flavors in garlic are fat soluble, so while it might be mild when you first taste it, the flavor gets more intense as it sits.

Failure #4:  “Oh no!  There’s not much liquid in the my bowl, so the blades of my food processor or immersion blender aren’t doing anything!  I know, I’ll add a bunch of oil to get the emulsion going.”  Nope, it won’t work.  You need to add the oil slowly or you’ll never get a thick sauce.  This almost happened to me the most recent attempt, so I opted for a whisk and it worked beautifully.  Now a bowl, whisk, and a little effort are my preferred tools for making aioli.

So with all these issues, you may ask: is it worth it?  Yes.  This is what I do to make an outstanding aioli:

Whisk together a fresh egg yolk, about a tablespoon of lemon juice, a tablespoon of canola oil (or any light oil, such as peanut), and a big pinch of salt.  Slowly add more canola oil until the sauce starts to thicken.  This step is crucial, so go drop by drop if you have to.  Once you see your sauce start to thicken up you can add the oil more quickly.  You can make the aioli as thick as you want by adding more oil, but a little bit before you get to your desired thickness, switch to extra virgin olive oil to get some good flavor.  Stir in a clove of finely minced garlic (I actually use a microplane to get a garlic paste) and add salt, pepper, and more lemon juice to taste.  It will keep for about 3 days in the fridge, assuming you don’t eat it all.  We enjoyed ours with some artichokes.

-Jordan

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quick cauliflower

We’ve been getting really into cauliflower lately … sauteed cauliflower, baked cauliflower, broiled cauliflower, maybe even braised cauliflower … perhaps because it’s cheap, but certainly because it’s delicious.

We made this quick side dish last night with ingredients we had languishing in the fridge.

Cauliflower with Fontina, Chives and Chili Flake
1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets
1 T olive oil
Salt, pepper, chili flakes
Chives, sliced
1/2 -3/4 cup grated fontina cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Toss cauliflower with olive oil, salt, pepper and chili flake. Bake for 20 – 30 minutes, or until fork tender. Turn oven to broil. Sprinkle with fontina. Melt cheese under the broiler for a few moments. Sprinkle with chives and enjoy!

-Emily

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quick mac and cheese

Since the weather has been so nice here in SF, Emily and I have spent much of our time outside with our dog Willow.  This was great all last weekend until it came time for dinner on Sunday.  We didn’t want to go out, but we didn’t feel like cooking up something worthy of a typical Sunday dinner;  mac and cheese felt like a perfect compromise.  Typically, mac and cheese is made with a béchamel sauce in which you add cheese to make a basic cheese sauce for your noodles.  This still seemed like too much work, but I wasn’t about to make that stuff that comes from a box with the little bunny on it that Emily likes.  Inspired by the pasta dish we had a couple weeks prior, I thought it would be nice to make the sauce with ricotta to thicken it rather than a béchamel.  I started by cooking some bacon that had been cut into lardons (I almost forgot to mention this was mac and cheese with bacon, of course).  After taking out the bacon and setting the fat aside, I slowly heated up about 0.5 – 0.75 cup of cream.  Now, my loyal reader, you must be thinking “But Jordan, what will you do with that glorious bacon fat?!”  Of course I’ve thought this through, and mixed the bacon fat with bread crumbs and parmesan cheese for a delicious, bacony, cheesy topping.  Back to the sauce: the cream is over a low flame and I’ve added about 0.5 cup of ricotta, 0.5 cup of grated fontina, and 0.25 cup of grated parmesan until melted together to a fairly thick sauce.  If the sauce is not sufficiently thick, add more of the cheeses to your taste.  Season with salt, pepper, and a very small sprinkling of nutmeg; it sounds weird, but it’s classic and tasty even though you don’t really taste the nutmeg, if that makes sense.  Add the sauce to about 0.5 lb of cooked pasta of your choice (Emily picked fusilli, which would not have been my choice, but she didn’t know that … until now).  Sprinkle on the topping and bake at 375 degrees until the top is crisp and looks like this:

Conclusions:  This version was much quicker and easier to make than traditional mac and cheese without sacrificing flavor.  On the downside, the ricotta prevents the sauce from becoming perfectly smooth and so you don’t get as much gooey, cheesy goodness either.  I’d make this again, but if I have the time I’ll go all out and do the béchamel.

-Jordan

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baking therapy: chocolate ganache tart

Another week full of coworker birthdays! Why so many birthdays? Well, as my coworker Noah pointed out, this week is 9 months after Valentine’s Day. 😉

I always ask the birthday boy or girl if they have any allergies (I don’t want to kill anyone on their birthday) and Joel replied, “I’m allergic to anything that’s not sweet, fattening or chocolate”.  Sounds good to me!

I decided to make a chocolate ganache tart because it looked so pretty and fancy in the picture, but the recipe was super simple.

Chocolate Ganache Tart, from Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food
3 tablespoons slivered blanched almonds
6 tablespoons sugar
1 1/4 cups (spooned and leveled) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons grated orange or lemon zest (I did lemon)
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into pieces
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make dough: In a food processor, pulse almonds until finely ground. Add sugar, flour, zest (if desired), and salt; pulse until combined. Add butter, pulsing until coarse crumbs form with no large butter lumps. I don’t have a food processor, so I grated the butter on the cheese grater and cut it in with 2 knives.

Immediately transfer dough to a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Using a measuring cup, evenly press dough in bottom and up sides of pan.

Bake in center of oven until golden brown and firm to the touch, about 20 minutes. (At 20 minutes, my crust was still really soft so I let it go longer, but upon eating the next day it seemed too crunchy). Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, about 1 hour.

Make ganache: Place chocolate in a large mixing bowl. In a small saucepan, heat cream until just about to boil. Pour hot cream, through a sieve, over chocolate. Stir until smooth and creamy in texture. Mix in vanilla. (As we learned in the chocolate mousse adventure, be careful not to torture the chocolate).

Pour chocolate mixture into center of cooled tart shell. Let stand until set, about 2 hours, or chill for 1 hour.

I served it with fresh raspberries.

Conclusions: It was rich, chocolatey and decadent. The acidity of the berries was a perfect accompaniment. I wasn’t thrilled with the crunchiness of the crust and may try a different crust recipe next time. The coworkers all really enjoyed it and I’m pretty sure I saw someone go in for thirds.

-Emily

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pasta with ricotta and heirloom tomatoes

This pasta dish was another of our quick, fresh, light dinners from the week. I wanted to celebrate the last of the tomatoes of the season!

Pasta with Ricotta and Heirloom Tomatoes
2 lbs heirloom tomatoes, sliced
1/2 c mixed herbs, chopped (I used parsley, basil and chives)
1 T olive oil
1 T lemon juice
salt, pepper, chili flakes to taste
12 oz dry pasta (I used conchiglie – cute snail shell shaped pastas)
1/2 – 3/4 c ricotta cheese
1/2 c finely grate parmesan cheese

Slice tomatoes and toss them with the chopped herbs, oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Set aside.

Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Drain. Return pasta to the pot, add ricotta, parmesan, and pasta water. Season with salt and pepper. Top with tomato and herb mixture and enjoy!

Conclusions: A direct quote from Jordan: “This is the best thing I’ve had since …  since I can remember. Except for Lobster Day”. And from me: “the easiest ‘mac and cheese’ you’ll ever make that doesn’t come from a box”.

-Emily

 

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baking therapy: angel food cake with lemon cream

Another coworker’s birthday, another delicious treat to break up the workday. I decided to make an angel food cake for a couple of reasons …  because my mom found an angel food cake pan at a garage sale and brought it down to me last weekend, because I’ve never make angel food from scratch, and because I’ve already brought cheesecake, chocolate cake, yellow cake, and banana bread to work.

I must say, baking this cake was quite the adventure. I made a huge mess of my kitchen (mostly because I didn’t realize just how voluminous 12 egg whites can become – very voluminous) and later was thrilled when my cake popped right out of the mold after the two hour cooling period, despite looking totally stuck to the pan.

Angel Food Cake with Lemon Cream and Fresh Berries, adapted from Martha Stewart Living

FOR THE CAKE
1 cup sifted cake flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
12 large egg whites
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt

Make the cake: Preheat oven to 325 degrees, with rack in lower third of oven. Sift flour and 1/2 cup sugar into a bowl.

Whisk whites with a mixer on medium speed until frothy, about 1 minute. Add lemon zest and juice, cream of tartar, vanilla, and salt; continue whisking until soft peaks form, about 2 1/2 minutes. With mixer running, gradually add remaining cup sugar.

Increase speed to medium-high; continue whisking until firm, not stiff, peaks form, about 2 minutes. (At this point my mixer was overflowing with egg whites!) Sprinkle whites with 1/3 of the flour-sugar mixture. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold to combine. Sprinkle remaining flour-sugar mixture over whites in 2 additions; gently fold to combine.

Transfer batter to an UNGREASED (very important!) 10-inch angel food cake pan with legs. Gently run a knife through the center of the batter to remove any air bubbles. Bake 45 to 50 minutes.

FOR THE LEMON CREAM
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cake flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups heavy cream, chilled
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest

While the cake is baking, make the lemon cream. Prepare an ice-water bath (this really does help). Whisk lemon juice, sugar, flour, and salt in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil; whisk constantly for 1 minute, until it thickens. Transfer to a heatproof bowl set in ice-water bath to cool completely, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, whisk cream and lemon zest with a mixer on medium speed until medium peaks form, about 3 minutes. Gently fold whipped cream into juice mixture in thirds. Refrigerate lemon cream, up to overnight.

Remove cake from oven, and invert onto its cooling legs (if your tube pan doesn’t have legs, invert it over the neck of a wine, or similarly shaped, bottle to cool); let cool, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. (Yes, you let it cool upside down … the cake won’t just plop out of the pan so don’t worry like I did). Run a knife around the inner and outer edges of cake to remove. Invert onto a serving platter. (Use a knife to separate cake from bottom of pan.)

Frost with whipped cream, serve with fresh berries.

Conclusions: Delicious! Light, lemony and spongy … an angel food cake success! My coworkers all enjoyed it, especially the addition of the lemon zest.

-Emily

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baking therapy: pumpkin seeds and pumpkin bread

Yesterday was Halloween. We woke up early and hosted a pumpkinpalooza in our kitchen … pumpkin carving, pumpkin seed roasting and pumpkin bread baking!

Step one: Carve your pumpkin. Look at what a fabulous job Jordan did!

Step two: Roast the seeds.

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees. Scrape out all the goopy goop. Rinse the goop off the seeds. Pat dry. Toss with olive oil and salt. Roast for 10-12 minutes. Enjoy!

Step three: Bake pumpkin bread. I used the same recipe from the pumpkin cookies I made last week and just baked the batter in small loaf pans for 45 minutes. It turned out delicious and the browned butter icing was the perfect compliment this time around. So good that we never even got a picture. 😉

Step four: Enjoy pumpkin bread and roasted pumpkin seeds outside in the fall sunshine with beautiful people and beautiful dogs!

 

 

A perfect fall day!

-Emily