Monday, April 28, 2014

cut, clarify, trim, ferment, refine, and rectify.....

I have been told that spring artichokes are more flavorful than the ones that are in the Fall.  Apparently the ones that are in the spring have a woody flavor that the fall ones do not contain.  I like to eat them and am very happy that I can enjoy them twice a year.  Artichokes are fantastic.  It does not matter whether they are stuffed with garlic, breadcrumbs, cheese, or a combination of all, they are just yummy.






I made cucumber salad earlier in the week, but I forgot about them.  I made cheese steak sandwiches to go along with the cucumbers and artichokes. 



Now if only I could figure out what to make for dinner.........

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

oh, wait.....

It happens all to often with me, I get into something and go full tilt.  I have done this always, it doesn't matter what it is, it just happens.  If I decide that I am into baking, then for the next month or so, I will bake everything known to man, then I will stop, just as abruptly as I began, and not go back to it for months.  I love to have all the accoutrements that go with what I am doing, probably why I have more stuff than any human should have.  I wish that I could channel this for something that needs to be done, like having a spotlessly clean house, but that never seems to happen.  My family has been subject to these "whims".  I don't think that they have been adversely effected, well maybe my son with Thai food.  He really did not enjoy that too much, well let's face it, he did not like it at all.  The rest of us did, I hope.  My family, though very small, has always remained constant, they never change, and for that I am most happy. 

Spring is here, and artichokes are plentiful, most have been pretty small but really flavorful.  The artichokes have been on the menu and truth be told, I am not the only one that is totally into them, and experimenting with different ways to make them.  Actually, I have not prepared them myself as of yet, they have been Andrew's domain.  He has been the dedicated "Artichoke Chef", and I love to have food made for my enjoyment and convenience. 



The peninsula is great for side by side prep work, if only the rest of the drawers and doors were made it would be finished.  All in good time I guess. 








Andrew steamed them with garlic, oil. salt, pepper, and lemon.  He is the wizard.

When I look at him, and yes, I love to take his picture, when he is wearing just his v-neck t-shirt, he reminds me of my Grandfather and his Dad.  I can see my Grandfather in my minds eye, wearing that type of shirt, smoking a Camel.  Peter, Andrew's dad, smoked Camels, wore v-neck t-shirts too, and John, my Grandfather were the about the same age, where both in Europe during WWII,  Peter as a soldier, and John, in occupied Denmark.  My Grandfather would tell me stories of the underground that existed in Denmark, and his part in it.  My Mom and Grandparents would tell us what they went through and what had gone on in Denmark. 

I made us cheese steak sandwiches.  I chopped shallots and garlic, sauteed them, and added the shaved rib eye.  I hollowed out rolls, toasted them a bit, then melted cheese on the rolls, then added the meat.  I can't tell you the last time we had a Cheese steak sandwich, so it was enjoyed.






On Tuesday, I was late in coming home because I had to go to Williams-Sonoma, love, love, love that store, to make a return.  I exercised great control, I did not buy the whole store.  I could, I really could.  I have been looking for a 9 inch tart pan with removable bottom, my three favorite stores have had tons of 12 inch pans, but no 9.  I figured I would go to Williams-Sonoma because I had to return some stuff, and I knew that they would carry the pan, so it was a no brainer.  By the time I got home,  I was not even hungry and neither was Andrew, he ate his lunch late, so after the dogs were fed, he napped while I made a ricotta rice tart.   This was my second risotto rice dish this week.  I told Kathy I would make a pie with ricotta cheese, so I found this recipe, and figured go for it....

I sprayed a 9 inch tart pan with Pam and on the bottom I put parchment paper, and then put pastry crust in the pan with weights and blind baked it for 15 minutes, and then took it out of the oven to cool.

While I was taking it out of the oven l grabbed the crust with the pot holder and took off a chunk of the crust.  I ate it.  It was good.  Got to love the little dents, they are so cute.

I put in a sauce pan  4 cups of milk, 2 tablespoons of sugar, and 1 cup of arborio.  I cooked it till the rice was al dente about 25 minutes.

I lined a jelly pan with non-stick aluminum foil.  I spread it out so that it could cool.  I take this moment to thank Reynolds for that great invention.

I then mixed 3 egg yolks and 9 tablespoons of sugar, next time I am going to decrease it by 3 tablespoons, in a mixing bowl.




I added 1 1/4 cups of whole milk ricotta (Polly-O, the only brand I buy, if I can't get fresh, we all think that it tastes the best) and a pinch of salt.
Then I folded in the rice mixture.  Then I put it in the pie crust, put a pie crust on the top, and put 6 vent holes, placed in on a jelly pan with foil. cause you know I am going to spill.  I put it in the oven at 325 for 80 minutes.  When the knife came out clean, it was done.


Andrew and I had a small piece.  I sent pictures to Kathy and Glenette.  Glenette stopped by for a quick piece.  Kathy texted me to tell me that she was going to call the "Tart Police" if we ate anymore.  I will drop off some to her tomorrow.  But for now it is in the fridge. 

you and me, how about it???

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Happy Easter, no eggs here, only risotto

One could say that arborio rice is kind of egg shaped, yeah, I know that is a stretch.  I really do have a plan.  The grocery stores had ricotta cheese on sale for Easter, so I decided to make not only lasagna, but I would try my hand at making a ricotta cheese cake.  When it comes to cheese cake, I think ricotta are my favorite.  I bought a dessert cookbook, yeah cause I really need to make desserts, and it had a few interesting things made with arborio/carnaroli/nano rice.  I decided on making Apple and Almond Risotto.  The only thing that I can really say is that it is different......
 I started by heating 64 ounces of apple juice and half cup of sugar in a sauce pan....

 I measured out 3 cups of arborio rice


 I used a sweet Italian wine. I thought about using Icewine, but that is really expensive.  This is an Italian dish so when in Rome....

 I peeled and chopped a good size Granny Smith apple, thinking that it would stand up nicely to cooking.


 I melted 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter in the pot and cooked the apple for about 5 minutes.
I then removed the apple and added the rice, and sauteed it til it was a slight golden color, then deglazed the pot with wine.



 I cooked the risotto rice as I would normally, when it was almost done, I added the apples back to the pot, added 3 tablespoons of butter, and the remaining 2 ounces of the apple juice.

I topped it with some toasted almond slivers.  If figs were in season, I would have added them, but as is stands right now the fig tree does not even have a glimmer of green, not one teeny tiny speck.

Thanks for a great day.....