Italy Part 1

This challenge was started almost a week ago on a Saturday morning when I unpacked my Mediterranean cookbook. I opened it and was immediately entranced by the pictures it contained, including Involtini of Swordfish and Higas Rellenos. Suddenly, the notion to cook my way through the countries within it enticed my interest. Turning to Joe (who was preoccupied by a youtube ski video), I opened the pages to the table of contents and asked him to pick a country that he would like me to cook through this summer. Without thought, he pointed at Italy. Sounds good to me! Italy it is! 

The Essential Mediterranean Cookbookby Juliet Rogers, Copyright 2005
ISBN 1-74045-776-5

Given to me by my wonderful parents. I love them!

Sample of the text. The picture of the bottom right
shows the Baked Peppers that I forgot to document with my own camera.

Visiting Italy six years ago was my first exposure to European culture. I remember thinking that the smells, people, vegetation and foods were about as colorful as anything I'd ever experienced. I remember thinking I should drop out of college, find a job a random vineyard in the hills of Tuscany, and grow old drinking Chianti and sampling pungent cheeses... oh, the glorious dreams I had! The fact that Joe picked Italy meant I could travel back and retrace fond memories. It was also a good pick because it is the season of summer. Italian cuisine fits perfectly due to simplistic recipes with an emphasis on fresh ingredients.


I chose to start with two recipes: Baked Peppers with Anchovies (page 89) and Spaghetti Puttanesca (page 110). From here on I will reference the page numbers within the cookbook where the complete recipes can be found. Instead of filling space with the recipes themselves (that can sometimes be very extensive), I want to elaborate on details that personalize the recipes, such as cooking methods, kitchen experiences, ingredient descriptions, and so on.

My ingredients for these recipes sat idle for three full days as new activities and social events kept arising that competed with our first Italian dinner at home. Last Monday, I was determined that we could manage both: an early evening on a "peddle hopper" with Joe's fellow interns and a retreat back to our apartment for a late meal of peppers and puttanesca (mostly because I was getting growing concern over the lifespan of my capsicum peppers)! To make this work, I decided to assemble the peppers and prepare the sauce for the pasta early afternoon. That way when we returned home around 8 pm, all I would have to do would be to cook the pasta and bake the peppers while letting the sauce simmer a bit longer. As the night progressed, our fine Italian dinner was substituted for one too many beers (never underestimate a bunch of medical residents about to kiss their summer freedoms goodbye while dressed in funny costumes on a peddle bus...)! We put the food in the refrigerator before retiring for the night.

Late the following morning I was expecting to find pruned, soggy peppers that would have to be tossed. To my dismay, they were just as beautiful as when I had left them the afternoon before! Well, this called for a lavish brunch of Italian fare to cure our sorry selves. I immediately began to preheat the oven and put the final garnishes on the peppers, such as the slivered anchovies and torn basil leaves, as well as put the sauce on the stove to a slow simmer. By 12:30 pm the stove was off and the food was warm.

I regret that I didn't think to take any pictures of the peppers but they were wonderfully caramelized on the bottom with a soft belly that kicked your taste buds with a harmony of salty anchovies and fresh basil. The pasta was also dressed in distinctly Italian flare with the combination of flavors such as Kalamatas, capers, anchovies, fresh parsley and a lingering heat from a few pinches of chili flakes. I quickly discovered that Joe was not thrilled with the olives as they slowly grew into a pile at the edge of his plate (his loss, my gain)!

There are some dishes that are known to be better the next day. I think this Puttanesca sauce is one of them, being that the individual ingredient flavors grew more pronounced during their long slumber in the fridge. I am also happy to note that these recipes can hold up to preparation a day in advance. This may come in handy for future time crunches and convenience. The leftovers of each of these recipes were excellent to the third day (the pasta did soften with time).

A visual sampling of my first pasta (minus the olives since this was Joe's dish).
 Parmesan was added to this dish for a hearty twist for
for lunch, but is not called for in the original recipe.

A bit of fun trivia: Puttanesca comes from the Italian word for whore (puttana). As one can imagine, there are many stories surrounding this dish. Does it stem from the intense flavors of the sauce that charmed men who would eat of it, or did it originate from women who were forbidden to shop for groceries during regular hours and survived on pantry staples (olives, anchovies, etc.)?

Westward Adventures

For the past 1 month, 1 week and 2 days, it seems as though life has been moving faster than I could mentally comprehend; it was almost as if I was watching my days transpire in third person. It all began mid-May when both Joe and I graduated with our graduate degrees in the same weekend. I was sleep deprived and frazzled as our families came to Madison to join us in celebration (probably from higher caffeine consumption to complete my thesis and tie up other responsibilities in the lab before that day). Following that, we had to finalize plans and small projects for our wedding the next weekend, May 21st. Our friends and family began arriving in town as early as Wednesday. After our wedding came a much needed eight days of vacation in sunny Antigua. We successfully managed to catch up on sleep, eat every few hours, and drink our fill with all things fruity that came with alcohol and a straw (sadly no umbrellas). Upon our return, we packed up our apartment and drove to Milwaukee, Minneapolis, and Kansas City for various family gatherings. We arrived at our final designation on the evening of June 7th in Denver, Colorado!

When gawking at the mighty hills seen to Denver's west, we stood
corrected by a local who looked at Joe and said,
"Son, those ain't hills.  Dem's mountains."
We had to twist the smiles off of our faces. 

Denver... the very name bleeds "cool" doesn't it? I think so. Or perhaps it is my resonating excitement to be exploring a new part of the country. Joe started his medical residency training (transitional year) this morning and I am currently, for the first time in my life, unemployed with no ties to academia. My plan from July through August (give or take) is to dedicate my time to getting my creativity back. How am I going to do that? By doing the activities that make me happiest. Spending time with the outdoors and playing with food.


I feel so blessed to have the time (key word, TIME) to explore deeper into the culinary arts. Despite my curiosities of spicy curries, baked goods, and traditional Slovakian meals, I have decided to focus my energy on one arena of food at a time. I'm beginning my adventure in the crooked, bustling market streets threading through Italy! And I'm using my beloved, The Essential Mediterranean Cookbook, as my guide.

Playing in the outdoors together as newly weds. We love
hiking dem mountains! We hope to complete a 14er, which is
climbing a peak of 14,000 ft, by the end of the season!

I have few rules about this challenge but I am taking them very seriously:
1)  No short cuts (no using pre-minced garlic in a can if the recipe calls for you to mince fresh garlic). By taking these extra steps the taste may not be noticeable but it will give me the opportunity to become more practiced with my kitchen tools and techniques.
2)  No budget cuts (if the recipe calls for a Tbsp of brandy in the sauce, but you don't want to buy a $20 bottle of something you know you don't drink, you buy it)! There are always ways to use leftover ingredients or people to give them away to. The goal is to prepare authentic tastes by adding each ingredient in the appropriate quantities.
3)  Enjoy the journey. If a mistake happens, learn from it. Better yet, laugh and sing in the kitchen. Have a glass of wine and put on your favorite album. If possible, share your final products with others to gain feedback (and most likely they will be happy to take part in the eating) and share your final thoughts. I'll be sharing many of mine right here! Salute!

My most frequent product taster (now husband!) after a picnic
dinner at Cheesman Park in Denver. 

Academia Bites

You know you are a full-time student when you:


1. Pair Hamburger Helper with wine for a gourmet Friday night meal.
2. Consider a latte to be a lavish expense, and even a cup of black coffee for that matter, but a $6 pint of beer is justified.
3. Fancy your meals standing over a kitchen counter or hovering over your laptop.
4. Emptying out the dishwasher becomes a major time suck.
5. Can't keep enough junk food in the house to supply late study snacking and thus, culinary creations are born (such as Pop tarts dressed in Hershey's syrup for a sweet fix)!
6. Ramen noodles become as versatile as spaghetti noodles, mixing them with peanut butter or marinara sauce for a novel take on an old college goodie.
7. Don't mind a dirty microwave caked in God-only-knows-what.
8. You cook gigantic amounts of food whenever making a recipe so that there are leftovers ready during busy days.
9. Eat to procrastinate doing homework.
10. Day dream about the fabulous kitchen you will have someday and all of the fabulous food you will make in it as your are eating all of the ambiguous "food" above...


... that is if you get lucky enough to land a job that actually pays you back of course :D


Now, back to work!

Sticky Rice

Today is the third day of perhaps the most quintessentially Thai holiday- "Songkran" or New Year!  Part of the celebration includes a gigantic water fight in the public streets with super-soakers and water balloons from what I'm told (sounds way better than sipping champagne at midnight)!  Another way of celebrating the New Year includes preparing a traditional dish that is one of the most intoxicating treats a human can ask for. It is called "sticky rice" and served with fresh mango. The recipe to follow was given to me by my Thai friend, Jiab, who is currently working in the same research lab that I am. She continues to wow the mouths of Americans when she makes this dish (like today)! I have not tried making it myself yet, but here it is for safe keeping:

Thai-tastic!!
Picture.

Thai Sticky Rice
10 servings



6 cups sticky rice (sweet rice). Find it at your local Asian Grocery.
2.5 cups coconut cream/coconut milk
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons of salt


Soak sticky rice in plain water overnight. Then steam the soaked rice in a bamboo steamer until the rice is cooked. While waiting for the rice, make the coconut sauce by putting all of the sugar and salt in the coconut milk, bringing to a boil and stirring until the sugar and salt is completely dissolved. When the rice is cooked (and still HOT), transfer to a mixing bowl, pour in the coconut sauce, mix well and cover. The hot rice will absorb all of the sauce in about half an hour or so.  Serve with fresh mango slices. Optional: Reserve some of the coconut sauce and drizzle over mango and sticky rice to serve. Additional note: Serve leftover sticky rice with a spicy curry for a real treat.

Here, Here, to Irish Cheer!

Helloooooo!!


I believe it's been 2011 for three months now and I have not added one post since bringing in the new year. Despite my crazy semester, I am determined not to let this outlet of creativity escape, so let's cheer to la vida loca and St. Patty with a suiting recipe that my family has grown quite fond of in the past few years: Irish coffees!

The handsome couple before revisiting Buena Vista in San Fran.
My mom admitted that she didn't like whiskey until drinking
these Irish Coffees in Minneapolis.

The story begins in San Francisco, California about four years back. My family was taking a trip to celebrate Mike's graduation from high school and it just so happened to overlap with my parents 25th wedding anniversary! They took a honeymoon in San Francisco and remember visiting the Buena Vista cafe overlooking Fisherman's Warf. We went there on their anniversary eve to get an Irish coffee, a drink they are quite famous for, however, my parents had to take their coffees out into the cold wind in two parts: a disposable cup with the coffee + a small plastic bottle of whisky (since Mike and I were still too young to share in the drinking atmosphere)!


A few years later on a mild June evening Mike and I decided to surprise them with a "proper"cup before going out for dinner. I bought my first bottle of Jameson. Mike did some dark coffee roasting. Sitting around a table on a slanted porch in Mike's rented house in Minneapolis, Minnesota we brought out the "surprise" and well... three hours and a few cups later we were stumbling into a cab to grab some grub to soak up the bottle of whisky in our stomachs! Now, it is a funny family drink. We made some last Christmas morning with hand-whipped Amaretto cream (Mike's creation). I introduced them to Joe on our second annual snow day (thank you Chancellor Biddy). And now, you can make them too!


Irish Coffees (Nuss Family Style)


Brew a strong pot of a dark roasted coffee
While brewing, boil hot water and pour into glasses/mugs to heat
Whip the whipped cream with sugar (and a splash of Amaretto) until it peaks
When the coffee is done, pour the hot water out of the serving glasses/mugs
Pour a shot or two of whiskey into the glasses
Scoop equal parts sugar and stir
Pour coffee until 3/4 full and stir until sugar is dissolved
Top *carefully* with the whipped cream as to not mix with the coffee
Enjoy one a cold night, or as we do, anytime you want to get giggly!

The "key" to a perfect Irish Coffee.
As some call it, "dumb blond in a black dress."
The beauty about not mixing the cream and coffee is
that they combine perfectly when sipping.
The slower you drink, the more the layers mingle.

Mama Mia Pizza

Tonight's dinner menu consists of homemade pizza! Madison finally received its first snow dump last night so what better way to spend a Saturday night than warm dough with cheese and a movie?  I am preparing a pizza recipe from the Joy of Cooking but substituting pre-made crust for some real Italian-style handmade yeast pizza dough.  You know its a real recipe for authentic dough when it lists flour amounts in grams. I had to google the conversion to cups. Here is what I did:


Italian Pizza Crust
The Essential Mediterranean Cookbook


Mix the following in a large bowl:
1.6 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
7 g (1 packet) yeast
Mix the following in a separate bowl:
1/3 cup milk
3/8 cup warm water
1 tablespoon olive oil


Add the wet mixture to the dry 
Stir with a wooden spoon. Knead for 5 minutes on floured surface. Place in a lightly oiled bowl and let rise in warm place (about 1 hour or double in size).
Punch down and knead another 5 minutes
Place on a lightly greased baking sheet with sprinkling of polenta. Bake 415 degrees 10 minutes*

Pizza pie perfection step #1: Put in the extra effort!

*The recipe bakes it along with pizza toppings for 15-20 minutes so I reduced the time to get the crust to stiffen (raw enough to bake again with my pizza toppings)! I also brushed the crust with olive oil. Kneading dough for 5 minutes is difficult from what I discovered by this recipe. I guess-timated that I would need to knead for the length of two songs playing from my itunes. The Black Keys was great to knead with a rhythm! The most remarkable experience making this recipe was that the dough behaved so well! I have had many bad experiences making yeast breads. My dough never turns out right. THIS pizza dough, however, was as dream come true! I couldn't stop remarking that it was truly remarkable the whole time...stretchy, tender, and smooth. And it even rose nicely in the oven into the golden crusty dream that I was wishing for. I am flagging this recipe with a post-it note for easy future reference and recommending it to everyone! (Note: I got so enthusiastic about this dough that I tried to toss and spin it it in my hands instead of rolling out with a roller. This was not elegant to watch).


Roasted Garlic and Pepper Pizza
Joy of Cooking


1 garlic bulb
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 large sweet red peppers
1/2 cup sliced pimiento-stuffed olives
2 tablespoons  red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1 (10 oz) prebaked thin Italian bread shell 
3/4 cup sweet onion slices
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese


As the name implies, this recipe requires oven roasting of a bulb of garlic as well as fresh bell peppers. I only had frozen green, yellow, and red peppers so I slapped those on a baking sheet and placed in the oven as it pre-heated for the garlic. I let cook for about 20 minutes and was surprised to see them so burned around the edges! The sugars seemed to seep out of the skins and onto the baking sheet making them very difficult to take off, as well as clean the sheet for the dough. I think I will use fresh next time. Slight variations in the toppings were also used: I also didn't have onions so a few dashes of onion powder was put into the topping mixture and pepperoni slices were added to half the pizza for fun! The garlic created a wonderful aroma in my apartment. The whole bulb seemed like a lot for a small pizza but  I followed the recipe and added it all anyways. Doubtful that there will be any complaining since both Joe and I will have garlic breath.


Almost 8:00 PM and pizza is done!! Its beautiful and colorful and smells dangerously delicious! I'm serving with side salad topped with tahini lemon dressing. Voila!

The colors shout "delicioso!!"

Final critiques: Do not bake raw crust separate from toppings. I solved the extra-crispy problem by serving with a balsamic vinegar and olive oil emulsion. Joe loved it regardless and had thirds. Will try again in the near future using the same crust but creative combinations of toppings.

Something Fishy

Tonight I am preparing Portuguese Fisherman's Stew. I cut it off of a White Northern Beans package years ago and kept it tacked on my refrigerator as a reminder to make. Well... that day has finally come! I am preparing it to be eaten tomorrow to give it a night of "rest" to allow the flavors to mingle and mature.


Portuguese Fisherman's Stew
Serves 4-6


2 cups Great Northern Beans, pre-cooked
1 lb. filleted firm white fish
1/4 cups lemon juice
2 quarts water
2 tbsp. margarine
3 small onions, sliced
1/8 cup minced garlic (fresh)
2 bay leaves

1 can (16 oz) chicken broth
 1 can (14.5 oz) stewed tomatoes
 1 1/2 tsp. thyme
 Salt and pepper to taste

In large pot brown onions and garlic in margarine. Add cooked  beans, water, bay leaves, broth, stewed tomatoes, and thyme and  simmer for 45 minutes. In separate skillet add lemon juice, fish and 1/2 cup water. Simmer slowly until fish flakes with a fork. Drain liquid and add fish to stew. Season to taste with salt pepper. 

 

A peek from start to finish.

I made a few modifications to this recipe. For one, I used a olive oil and butter combo instead of margarine for cooking the onions and garlic. I also used concentrated natural chicken bouillon paste instead of broth. For the tomatoes, all I had on hand was the canned, diced variety so I used those instead of stewed. I'm not sure if there is a real difference if adding to soup or stew but I increased the simmer time anyways. The butcher at Copps helped me pick out a nice "firm white fish" to use. We decided on Flounder. He said it was more fishy than Tilapia or Roughy. I thought fishy would be good flavor for a rich broth (and it also happened to be a cheaper choice). Let me tell you something though, it really smells fishy too! My apartment is going to stink like fish for days...


I seem to be on the roll with fishy things since I just finished off some homemade pasta sauce that included canned sardines. It was one of those nights where you are scavenging your bare refrigerator shelves after a long weekend away trying to find something dinner-worthy. My choice ended up producing very potent breath that lingers until morning (even after brushing and Listerine-ing). It's funny how something so terribly smelly can taste so good!


So the stew is now finished and sitting on my counter to cool before putting it into the refrigerator for the night. I just realized I forgot to drain the cooked fish before adding. I think I will serve with some of my sauteed sourdough bread, that I talked about in a previous blog, and perhaps some white wine.