LaDolcePita

 

Some of my very favorite things.

1.  Villeroy & Boch “Boston” Double Old Fashioned – These are gorgeous, heavy, equal parts masculine and feminine glasses.  Fill them with anything from scotch to cilantro margaritas.

2.  The New Best Recipe Cookbook – I have a collection of approx 3,828 cookbooks and this is by far my favorite.  It is the most comprehensive, informative, technique driven book I own.  Every recipe you will ever need is in here, and they are absolutely fool-proof.   Make room for it on your bookshelf.

3.  2007 Thorn-Clarke “Shotfire” Shiraz – Choosing one red wine to feature on this list is a bit like Sophie’s Choice, but this one holds a special place in my heart.  It has some sentimental value to me, but aside from that, it’s the wine that got me into wine.  For the price (just under $20.00), it’s a great value.  Lots of blackberry and plum in this one.

4.  Williams Sonoma King Cube Silicone Ice Cube Tray – I’m one of those people who watches Mad Men and all of a sudden craves a disgustingly strong drink at like, 2 PM in a fancy glass (see #1 on this list).  I recently had cocktails at Lambs Club in NYC and they served drinks with huge ice cubes in a Mad Men era setting.  These trays produce iceberg sized rocks.  Very Don Draper, indeed.

5.  Kevin Zraly’s Complete Wine Course – Aside from becoming a chef, my other dream is to have a pretty extensive knowledge of wine, somewhere in sommelier territory.  Since I have spent every ounce of savings I have on my culinary education, going to wine school will have to wait.  In the meanwhile, I’m self-educating with this book.  It covers every aspect of wine and is fun to read.

6.  Crate & Barrel “Edge” Wine Glasses – Words can not express how much I love my wine glasses.  I am obsessed with them.  They are big enough to make me think that I’m having “just one glass of wine” when in reality it’s like, half a bottle.  And they look gorgeous and make me feel classy even when I’m glued to The Bachelor every Monday night.

7.  Shun “Ken Onion” 8” Chef’s Knife – This knife was very, very, very, generously gifted to me one random night by my best friend’s husband (thanks Matt!).  It puts every other knife I’ve used to shame.  I think this thing could cut through a human skull.  Needless to say I love it.  If I had paid for it myself, I would say it’s worth every penny.  Instead I’ll just encourage you to throw your credit card down and buy one – you can thank me later (just not when/if you’ve cut through a human skull).

8.  Bialetti Mukka Express Cappuccino Maker – I had a gift card to Williams Sonoma and bought this on a whim.  It’s an old school Cappuccino/Espresso maker that works on the stove, no plugs, pods, etc. required.  Every Italian girl worth her salt should own one.

Listening to right now:  Midnight City by M83

Have a good weekend, all.

On Long Island, summers are unmatched.  I’m a (very) proud Jersey Girl but living this close to the water (you can see the Long Island Sound from my bedroom in the winter) is amazing, especially when the weather calls for late sunsets on the back deck, cold Margarita in hand, fire pit blazing, kebabs on the grill, crickets chirping… I’ve clearly been missing the warm weather days.  Today’s class at school focused on shellfish – even though I don’t eat shellfish, the smell of it always, without fail, transports me to the middle of July on the beach.  Turns out some of the shellfish we prepared today comes right from Long Island – Oyster Bay, to be precise, which is only a stone’s throw away from my town.  A little bit of summertime in the dead of January?  Whatever gets me through til May…

(No, I did not kill this lobster.  I left that dirty work to our instructor while I left the room to compose myself, like a good little vegetarian.)

We learned how to shuck oysters and clams – with a little prying, their shells popped open and revealed a glistening, briny treasure that we prepared in several different ways.  First, raw oysters topped with a Red Pepper salsa I threw together on the fly, which contained diced red bell peppers, diced shallots, minced mint and cilantro, a dash of hot sauce, fresh lime juice, salt, and olive oil. 

Another group prepared Clams Oreganata, which were basically littleneck clams stuffed with breadcrumbs, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, and fresh oregano baked in a hot oven for 10 minutes.  These were a big hit among my classmates who got to try them.

Next up, fried razor clams.  These guys are long and thin when they are in the shell.  They were breaded in panko and served with some lemon wedges.

We peeled and deveined a bunch of shrimp and coated them in some seasoning – black pepper and ground coriander – and grilled them on a stovetop cast-iron grill.

Both groups gutted and cleaned squid (it wasn’t as gross as it sounds, strangely enough) to make the perennial Italian crowd pleaser, Fried Calamari.  The squid rings and tentacles were dredged in seasoned flour and deep fried until golden brown.  The hot calamari was served with lemon wedges as well.

Next up was seasoning and searing some scallops and serving them on a bed of mixed greens, supremed grapefruit, sliced avocado, and a orange-miso-mint vinaigrette that I stirred up:

Mussels were steamed in a curried tomato, white wine, parsley, and garlic broth and served atop toasted baguette – I have to say, this dish smelled HEAVENLY.  My Mom’s extended family cooked and ate a lot steamed mussels when I was small so there was a little bit of nostalgia going on when I was preparing this dish.

We also did a shellfish bouillabaisse and stuffed Sicilian style squid which I didn’t get a chance to take pictures of – but rest assured, they looked as pretty as everything else.

With that, my notes from class literally smell like fish so in a way, I’m glad today is over.

Listening to right now:  Share With Me The Sun by Portugal The Man

It’s “meat week” at Natural Gourmet Institute for my Chef’s Training Program class.  Although NGI isn’t a “vegetarian” school, per se, the classes are overwhelmingly focused on a plant-based diet, which is one of the reasons why I decided to enroll here instead of other respected culinary training programs.  I feared that in a meat-centric program, my diet would always be an issue – I wouldn’t be able to taste a lot of the food I make, and I would have serious ethical issues with preparing certain foods.  Not to mention that some chefs are seemingly offended on a personal level when you tell them you don’t eat meat.  However, I love food, and I am thoroughly committed to receiving the best culinary education possible, including the proper culinary techniques for meat, poultry, fish, and shellfish.  So, I dove right into meat-week with an open mind and willingness to learn.  Our classes this week focus on classic techniques involved in preparing animal proteins.

In short, I’m willing and able to prepare meat/poultry/fish so long as the animal was treated humanely.  I understand that meat tastes good – I wasn’t born a vegetarian – and I also respect that not everyone wants to give it up permanently.  However, I feel very strongly about knowing where your food comes from, and choosing food that has been ethically raised, handled, and slaughtered.  In fact, some of my classmates started up the “Humane Week” movement in New York City taking place next week that encourages exactly this type of eating: http://humaneweek.org/Home.html

There is a lot of information floating around about what goes on in Factory Farms (where an overwhelming majority of your meat is from) – so much information, in fact, that instead of trying to capture it on my blog, I’ll just recommend that if you’re interested in learning more, read Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer, or just Google the subject – it’s pretty alarming stuff, and I think while it’s an inconvenient truth, it’s an extremely important one.

It can be pretty confusing when you are standing in front of the poultry counter at a supermarket and trying to figure out what you should buy – so here are some common labeling terms on poultry packages that you should be familiar with:

 

Organic:  Organic means that the bird you are purchasing has been fed an organic diet, which denies the use of antibiotics, hormones, genetic engineering, radiation, synthetic pesticides or fertilizers in the feed.  Buying organic only relates to the bird’s diet – it has nothing to do with their environment or handling.  Beak cutting and forced molting through starvation are permitted, and there is no third party auditing.

Natural:  This means absolutely nothing.  It does not make any promises, guarantees, or claims about the animal, its quality, how it was raised, etc. 

Cage Free:  This means that the bird is uncaged inside barns or warehouses, but likely has no access to the outdoors.  Cage Free birds are still usually packed like sardines in their enclosures, so this is still a far cry from humane living conditions.  Beak cutting is permitted.

Free Range:  Free Range poultry are uncaged inside barns or warehouses and have some degree of outdoor access, but there are no requirements for the amount, duration, or quality of outdoor access.  Outdoor access could mean a concrete enclosure – it does not imply grass or a pasture.  Beak cutting and forced molting through starvation are permitted, and there is no third party auditing.

Vegetarian Fed: This just means that the feed given to the poultry is free of animal flesh.  Chickens are naturally not vegetarian, so this does not really mean much in the way of quality.

So what to buy?  Basically it’s fairly difficult to buy a bird that you can guarantee was raised in optimal conditions.  At minimum, buy organic free-range.  If you have access to a farmer’s market, that is likely where you will find the best quality poultry and meats.  Birds raised on small family farms are going to be the most humanely raised and likely the best tasting of the bunch. 

Aside from the ethical standpoint of buying high-quality, small-farm raised proteins, there are also huge health and environmental benefits to shopping humanely.  Taking a few moments out of your day to do a little research on where your food comes from will reap enormous benefits!

This week at school I’m assigned stewarding duties, which means that I’m responsible for making sure my classroom is stocked with all of the fresh foods that we are going to be making that day.  So, this morning, before I had my Starbucks, I wandered into the walk-in fridge to fetch my class’s box of produce.  The door closed behind me, and when I went to leave the fridge, I noticed there was no interior door handle.  I immediately assumed I was trapped, destined to spend an undetermined amount of time (hours?  days?  months?) among boxes of produce, alone and afraid.  I cried for help, I pounded on the (very thick) fridge door, knowing that there was no way anyone would be able to hear me.  I tried to wedge my fingers into the crevices of the door, hoping that a little determination and dexterity would allow me to pry the door open.  When that failed, I leaned into the door from exhaustion and exasperation – to my horror/delight, the door swung open and I went flying into the school hallway clutching my box of produce, eyes bulging and red-rimmed from my minor meltdown moments before.  I caught the eye of a school employee, who looked equal parts amused and horrified by my stupidity.  And that is why, my friends, it is important to drink your morning caffeine. 

I digress.  Today we had a bean demo – our Chef Instructor, Celine, showed us how to prepare several different recipes showcasing beans as the star ingredient.  Everything came out delicious – I’m looking forward to our bean practicum later this week when I will get the opportunity to try my own hand at re-creating versions of these yummy recipes.

Adzuki Bean & Butternut Squash Stew:

Red Lentil Soup:

Baked Beans:

Homemade Hummus with Pita Chips (my favorite recipe of the day – puts the store-bought kind TO SHAME!  I doused mine with lots of Harissa, my new favorite condiment – life changing):

And, finally, Pan Seared Edamame with Garlic:

Everything was amazing.  I don’t think any of my classmates took a lunch break because we were all so thoroughly enamored with the food from this morning’s class.  Another huge plus of culinary school – lunch is essentially provided every day via the wonderful food we make/taste. 

So as much as I love cooking and talking about healthy food, I love chowing down on grease laden grub as much as the next girl.  Anyone who denies the euphoric qualities of deep fried goodies is a dirty liar.  There is nothing not to like about a food that, in just one bite, makes your fat and sodium consumption skyrocket past daily recommended intake levels and causes the top button of your jeans to pop off and ricochet off the walls.  I often joke if you deep fried shoelaces, I would probably eat – devour – them.  The mystery has been solved as to why I can’t lose those last stubborn 10 pounds.  Ah, everything in moderation, of course.

Today at school we covered frying, obviously.  We talked about sauteeing, and more interestingly, pan frying and deep frying.  We got busy trying our hand at each method. 

(note the ginormous jug of Canola Oil in the front of the picture).

Don’t like tofu?  Have you ever deep fried it?  Talk to me after you’ve tried THIS…oh yeah.

Not a fan of filling your plate with veggies?  How about when they are coated with batter and submerged into bubbling oil for 30 seconds?  BOOM!  TEMPURA! 

And did you know that once you’re done deep frying every possible food in your refrigerator, you can even deep fry your leftover herbs?  Here’s what parsley looks like when you make it fattening (PS – it’s freaking DELICIOUS when tempura’d):

It was a fun day, to say the least.  I tried to reverse the damage by coming home and throwing as many green vegetables as I possibly could into a steam basket and cooking those up for lunch tomorrow.   I can atone for my sins later.

A full week has gone by since I started the Chef’s Training Program at Natural Gourmet Institute – we’ve spent a lot of time chopping, learning how to sharpen our knives properly, and getting to know each other.  I’m fortunate to be in a class that is on the small side – there are only 7 of us (the norm is anywhere from 13-16 per class), so we are getting to know each other fairly quickly and getting spoiled by lots of personalized attention from our Chef Instructors.  I’m really liking my classmates (hi guys, if you’re reading!) and I think we were all looking forward to our first day of actual COOKING today.

The first part of the day focused on Quality Ingredients.  We spoke at length on the importance of using whole, organic, fresh, local, and seasonal ingredients.  This is definitely something I can get behind.  A few years ago, I started to make a shift away from processed foods and haven’t looked back.  Real foods made from real ingredients taste infinitely better than their chemical/preservative laden counterparts, and are usually infinitely more satisfying in the long run.

After our lecture, we spent our first real day in the kitchen cooking in Basic Cook Tech.  We learned to blanch, shock, parboil, boil, simmer, steam, and poach (and probably other things I’m forgetting).  We were split up into small teams and were told to steam an artichoke…

poach a pear with an apple juice reduction sauce…

…blanch and peel almonds for a raw, vegan sweet almond cream (TDF – I would have licked the bowl clean if I could), simmer leeks, garlic and tomatoes, parboil diced potatoes for homefries, and blanch/shock veggies for crudite.  It was fun to get some freedom in the kitchen and actually cook together.  In a way, it felt like our first real day of culinary school. 

So far, it’s been really exciting.  I’m not only learning lots of great techniques and cooking methods, but I’m starting to realize the difference between what it means to be a great home cook versus a professional chef.  The kitchen is fast paced, and demands a lot of hard work and precision and know-how.  The energy is contagious and addictive.  The best part is, I’m not clock-watching; the day flies by.  This is how I know I’m in the right place.

For the next three days, my class is studying knife skills; knife skills are hugely important in cooking – they prove to everyone that you are a badass in the kitchen. 

Today was Japanese Knife Skills day, and tomorrow is focused on French knife skills.  I had no f’ing clue before today what the difference was between the two.  But, I’m pretty sure I know the answer now – in short, Japanese knives have a straight blade and are more rectangular in structure.  French knives are curvier and allow more of a rocking motion when chopping.  There.

When we got our knife kits today, I was completely giddy – that big roll of steel feels pretty official.   We learned a lot about the evolution of the knife, materials that make up the best kitchen knives, proper knife holding stance, and whether or not your julienne is thin or uniform enough (I have work to do).  I sliced a lot of onions, potatoes, leeks, carrots, celery, cabbage, radishes, mushrooms and garlic today.  And my fingers are all still in tact!

(disclaimer – these are not my cuts – this is the handiwork of our Chef Instructor).

I came home and was rewarded for my long day at the chopping block with spinach tortellini and homemade blue cheese cream sauce, with a glass of Cotes du Rhone, served expertly by my husband.  Who needs perfectly cubed potatoes when you have a dinner like this?

Somebody’s a student again! 

Waking up this morning and getting dressed for my first day as a culinary school student was a surreal experience.  I’ve literally spent years daydreaming about quitting my job and following my passion, but fear and doubt held me back for a very long time. 

Gut instinct has never really led me astray.  I’ve chosen to ignore it, and that’s when I’ve gotten into trouble.  So, finally, I decided to listen.

Important life changes don’t just happen.  They are often the result of difficult decisions that don’t always guarantee a happy ending.  They involve spending hours weighing pros and cons, going over risk versus reward, and realizing that you might never have a moment of clarity – you just need to rip the band-aid off and do it.

My first day itself was nothing spectacular; we don’t start cooking until tomorrow, and today was a lot of standard orientation material: going over the course calendar, student expectations, the grading system, internship requirements, exams.  But, being there, in and of itself, surrounded by my classmates who share this unique passion for cooking and health, was extraordinary.  I don’t think I’ve ever been prouder of myself for taking a leap that I never thought I would have the courage to do.  It’s the first time in my 30 years that I’ve done something completely for myself.

So, here I am.  A full-time culinary student at the Natural Gourmet Institute in New York City.  I have, at my disposal, a school full of excellent instructors, great kitchen facilities, storage rooms full of thousands of ingredients, a cookbook library, and it’s all within a few blocks of Whole Foods and Eataly, just to up the awesomeness factor a teense.  I am overwhelmed, in the best way, at what the next six months (and beyond) hold for me.

It’s Thanksgiving Eve, which means that I’m among countless people who spent today cooking and washing dishes.  I’m celebrating my first Thanksgiving as a married woman (!) at my Aunt Grace’s house, and obviously wanted to contribute a few dishes to tomorrow’s feast.  I’m making the cranberry sauce and brussels sprouts that I blogged about here, and butternut squash lasagna as a vegetarian friendly entree. 

I made the same butternut squash lasagna last year for Thanksgiving with Mark’s family, and it was met with rave reviews.  One of my pet peeves about being a vegetarian is the standard question that comes every year around Thanksgiving:  “If you don’t eat the turkey, then what do you eat?  Tofurky? (nyuk, nyuk, nyuk).”  Oh, those Tofurky jokes are just so clever and adorable after the 928,342,983th time!

There are a ton of amazing vegetarian entrees to make for Thanksgiving, not only for those who don’t eat meat, but for the Turkey eaters as well!  This is Giada De Laurentiis’s recipe.  It involves a lot of steps, so make life easier on yourself by using pre peeled and cut butternut squash – it is well worth the extra cost of buying it all cut up and ready to go.  Cutting those mothers up is not fun unless you have a seriously sharp knife.

Without further ado…

Butternut Squash Lasagna

Adapted from Giada’s Family Dinners by Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp. EVOO
• 1 (1 1/2 – 2 lb.) butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1 inch cubes
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 c. water
• 3-4 Amaretti cookies, crumbled (can be found at an Italian specialty foods store)
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, plus more for greasing baking dish
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 1/2 cups organic whole milk
• Pinch of nutmeg
• 3/4 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves
• 12 no-boil lasagna noodles (I used homemade fresh lasagna noodles – either works just as well)
• 2 1/2 cups shredded whole-milk mozzarella cheese
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium high heat.  Add the squash and toss to coat.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Pour the water into the skillet, then cover and simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the squash is tender, about 20 minutes.  Cool slightly, then transfer the squash to a food processor.  Add the Amaretti cookies and blend until smooth

Season the squash puree to taste with more salt and pepper.  (This step can be done up to 1 day ahead – keep squash puree in the fridge in an airtight container).

Melt the 1/4 cup of butter in a medium, heavy saucepan over medium heat.  Add the flour and whisk for 1 minute. 

Gradually whisk in the milk. 

Bring to a boil over medium high heat.  Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, whisking often, until the sauce thickens slightly, about 5 minutes.  Whisk in the nutmeg.  Cool slightly.  Transfer half of the sauce to a blender.  Add the basil and blend until smooth. 

Return the basil sauce to the sauce in the pan and stir to blend.  Season with salt and pepper.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Lightly butter a 13x9x2 inch glass baking dish.  Spread 3/4 cup of the sauce over the prepared baking dish.  Arrange 3 of the lasagna noodles on top of the sauce (the noodles will expand as they bake). 

Pour a third of the squash puree over the noodles and sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the mozzarella cheese.  Drizzle 1/2 cup of the sauce over the mozzarella. 

Repeat laying the noodles, squash puree, and cheese 2 more times.  Top with the remaining 3 noodles.  Drizzle with remaining sauce. 

Cover the baking dish tightly with foil and bake for 40 minutes.  Uncover the lasagna and sprinkle with the remaining 1 cup of mozzarella and the freshly grated parmesan.  Continue baking, uncovered, until the sauce bubbles and the top is golden, about 15 minutes longer.  Let stand for 15 minutes before serving.

–

I think this dish is really a stand-out – if you don’t have time to make it for Thanksgiving, it would be equally delicious at your next holiday gathering.  I would pair this with an oaky, buttery Chardonnay.

Have a very happy Thanksgiving!

I am a food magazine junkie – I subscribe to more epicurean magazines than one person could possibly need.  It’s an addiction.  I spend a lot of time dog-earing recipes that I’ll never have time to cook, so this past weekend, I made it my mission to pick out a recipe and re-create it at home.  For this dish, I drew inspiration from a recipe for Farfalle with Crispy Kale and Ricotta.  And by “drew inspiration”, I mean, “I tried to make the recipe, failed, and did the best I could with the remaining ingredients”.  I burnt the Kale, and didn’t have any farfalle, and couldn’t find the right kind of chili pepper in the supermarket.  So, instead I created Ricotta Jalapeno Cellentani, a dish made with ingredients I had on hand.

I love corkscrew pastas – they scream comfort food!  Make this on an early winter night and eat in front of the fire with a glass of Pinot Noir.

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. EVOO2
• 3-4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
• Pinch of dried Rosemary
• Pinch of dried Thyme
• 1 lb. Cellentani pasta, or other corkscrew shaped pasta
• 1 cup reserved pasta cooking water
• 1 1/2 cups Ricotta
• Pinch of Nutmeg
• Salt & Pepper
• Shaved Pecorino Romano cheese

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

While waiting for water to boil, heat EVOO in a small frying pan and sautee garlic, jalapeno, Rosemary, & Thyme until fragrant, about 2 minutes.  Set aside.

When pot of water has reached a boil, add pasta and cook according to package directions.  Before draining, reserve 1 cup of pasta cooking water.  Drain pasta and place in a large bowl.

Add 1 cup of pasta cooking water to garlic/jalapeno mixture in frying pan and stir.  Add contents of frying pan to bowl of pasta.  Add Ricotta, Nutmeg, Salt & Pepper and toss well, until ingredients are evenly distributed throughout pasta. 

Garnish pasta with thin shavings of Pecorino Romano cheese and serve.

The moral of the story is – if you think you’ve screwed up a recipe, chances are, there is a way to re-invent the dish and salvage the ingredients you’ve already put to use.  Get creative – can the ingredients be folded into an omelet?  Reduced with some wine into a savory sauce?  Would they taste good on pasta?  There’s almost always a way for you to turn your trashed recipe into something delicious!