Gnocchi alla Romana

Most people by now are familiar with gnocchi, Italian dumplings. Here, we are most familiar with boiled potato gnocchi, however, Gnocchi alla Romana is baked semolina and cheese dumplings. I have made gnocchi so many times successfully, that I thought when Brian and I first started dating that it was something I could really wow him with. I read a different recipe than this one, and I thought I'd try a different technique, and it didn't work. I was so embarrassed! I ended up making spaghetti! How lame! I did have a caprese salad with heirloom tomatoes, so it kind of made up for it.

This recipe is the best. So cheesy goodness.

Gnocchi alla Romana

2 cups milk
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups semolina flour
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons heavy cream (sometimes I use half and half)
2 eggs (original recipe says 1 egg and 2 yolks)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
more grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Bring milk and butter to a boil in a large sauce pan. Add semolina and all-purpose flour. Stir over low heat until absorbed, and continue to stir until mixture is rolling off the sides of the pan (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat, add the cream, eggs, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and stir until smooth. Season to taste (salt, pepper, nutmeg, etc). On a sheet of wax paper, spread to 1/2 inch thick. Cool for 30 minutes, then cut into rounds with a round cookie cutter. Put in baking dish (overlap like scallops if you don't have room to lay each piece out individually), drizzle with melted butter and grate more Parmigiano-Reggiano over top. Bake 20-45 minutes, until golden brown.

This time I served it with a tomato basil salad (basically, you just toss together chopped tomatoes and fresh basil, add dash of red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper) and sauteed spinach. I found a recipe in an Italian cook book, but I just improvised it... I sauteed chopped onion and garlic in olive oil, added pine nuts, and then spinach, nutmeg, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and raisins.

Cream Scones

I've been loving our monthly brunch bunch! First was Jewish Brunch - when I made the kugel. Then there was Mexican brunch, where we didn't make anything but stopped into the most wonderful little bakery that is right around the corner from us and got a wonderful array of beautiful pastries including amazing churros and pumpkin empanadas (to go along with the tamales, papas con huevos etc.). This time it was British Brunch, with a fry up and scones. Since I would probably turn inside out if I ate a gallon of bacon and sausage grease with my brunch, I made scones!

I have made scones many times before, but I'm never happy with the traditional scones I try to make. I found the recipe for these on the Joy of Baking's Website. Here it is:

Cream Scones
copied from: http://www.joyofbaking.com/scones.html

Scone Recipe:

2 cups (280 grams) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated white sugar
2 teaspoons (10 grams) baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup (76 grams) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup (120 ml) whipping cream or milk

Glaze:
Cream

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) and place the rack in the middle of the oven. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. In a small measuring cup combine the whipping cream, beaten egg and vanilla. Add this mixture to the flour mixture. Stir just until combined. Do not over mix.

Knead dough gently on a lightly floured surface. Roll or pat the dough into a circle that is about 7 inches (18 cm) round. Then, using a 2 1/2 inch (6.5 cm) round cookie cutter, cut the dough into rounds. Place the rounds on the prepared cookie sheet, spacing a few inches apart. Brush the tops of the scones with a little cream. This helps to brown the tops of the scones during baking.

Bake for about 15 - 18 minutes or until nicely browned and a toothpick inserted into the center of a scone comes out clean. Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool. Serve with Devon cream or softly whipped cream and your favorite jam.

These scones freeze very well.

Makes about 10 - 2 1/2 inch (6.5 cm) round scones.

I did not cut the butter into the flour by hand - I used my electric mixer with the paddle attachment. I also did the parchment paper trick, but I personally thought the bottoms still turned out a little dark... I probably should have pulled them out of the oven a minute or two earlier. Otherwise, they were a good vehicle for the clotted cream and jam, also great with lemon curd and blackberries!

Next time will be German brunch! Can't wait!

Finally - Tofu Success!!!

After many unsuccessful attempts to cook tofu in my early days as a pseudo-vegetarian, I had all but given up on it. I decided I could never make it like restaurants, so I thought this was best to leave to the professionals. Brian actually brought me to try it again. He bought some tofu to make pad thai. It does just what it always does for me: falls apart and looks like scrambled eggs. I've tried every trick - draining, using cheesecloth, etc... nothing works.

We had made pad thai with tofu a couple days before, and we didn't want to tofu to go to waste. We decided to try to pan-fry the tofu to top a salad. I cut the tofu into about 1 inch square cubes, marinaded it for a few minutes in Soy Vey and chili garlic sauce. I heated some vegetable oil into a non-stick pan, and placed the the cubes in the pan. I think this was actually the trick - I didn't touch it! I left it in the pan on one side until it was nice and dark (maybe a little too dark - but oh well). Then I gently turned the cubes to one side over, and cooked that side until it was done. I did that until all sides were fully cooked.

It turned out pretty good. I think next time I will marinade them for a little longer. We put it on a bed of spinach, broccoli slaw, sesame dressing, and topped with sesame seeds and green onions.

I'm still trying to figure out my new camera - still a little blurry....


If anyone has a tofu success stories, please share them with me - a slight success has me inspired to make more tofu!

Happy New Year! or A Year of Blogging

In honor of the new year and a year of blogging, I thought I'd do a short list of favorites for the year:

Favorite twist on standard recipe: Grilled Pizza

Best Failure: St. Agatha, AKA Moob, Cookies

Favorite New Dessert Recipe: Hummingbird Cupcakes

Favorite Bisquick Recipe: TIE: Bisquick Cheese Bread and
Banana Nut Pancakes

Favorite new concoction: Spinach and Ravioli Soup

Spicy Black Bean Cakes

I've been slacking off on my food posting because lately I've become obsessed with myFarm on Facebook and the Eisenberg Holiday Game (sooo addictive!).

I made these Spicy Black Bean Cakes from Everyday Food's Great Food Fast

Spicy Black Bean Cakes
from: http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/spicy-black-bean-cakes
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 scallions, thinly sliced
6 garlic cloves, pressed
1 to 2 jalapeno chiles, finely chopped (ribs and seeds removed for less heat, if desired)
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 cans (15.5 ounces each) black beans, drained and rinsed
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 large sweet potato, peeled and coarsely grated (2 cups)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup plain dried breadcrumbs
Lime Sour Cream (see recipe, below)

Heat broiler. In a small skillet over medium heat, warm 1 tablespoon olive oil. Cook scallions until softened, 1 minute. Add garlic, jalapeno, and cumin; cook until fragrant, 30 seconds. Transfer to a large bowl.
Add beans to bowl; mash with a fork or a potato masher, leaving about 1/4 of the beans whole. Season generously with salt and pepper. Fold in sweet potato, egg, and breadcrumbs. Divide into 8 balls of equal size; flatten into patties.
Brush a baking sheet with remaining tablespoon oil; place patties on sheet, 1/2 inch apart. Broil 4 inches from heat until golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes. With a thin metal spatula, carefully turn cakes. Broil until crisp, 2 to 3 minutes more. Serve with Lime Sour Cream.
For the Lime Sour Cream: In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream with 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice and 1 small minced jalapeno chile (ribs and seeds removed for less heat, if desired) season with coarse salt.

I followed the recipe. Mine did not turn out like the photo on the website:

Served with Shrimp on a bed of spinach (not very food-stylish, but tasty!).

The cakes were good, but I think next time I'm going to skip the healthy broiling method and pan-fry them.

Spinach and Ravioli Soup

I've always been pretty happy with canned soups. You can doctor them up a bit, and they're good. I've always thought making soup was a time-consuming process, so I just never tried. A co-worker of mine said she makes soup all the time, and she had some tortellini and kale soup that looked awesome. She told me what she did, and I googled some more recipes, and I ended making this one up.

Ravioli Soup

2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 stalk celery (leaves included), chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1/2 bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 TBSP Olive Oil + More
1 can diced tomatoes with basil
4-6 cups broth (I used vegetable)
1 can cannelli beans
1 package fresh ravioli (I used Bertoli 4 Cheese Whole Wheat Ravioli)
2 tsps dried oregano
4 cups fresh spinach
pinch grated nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
Grated parmesan or asiago

In a large sauce pan, saute garlic, celery, carrot, bell pepper, and onion in 2 TBSP olive oil until soften. Add broth, tomatoes, ravioli, cannelli beans, oregano, and cook about 5 minutes. Add Spinach, nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste, and cook until ravioli and beans are cooked all the way though. Serve with grated cheese.

It's a lot of stuff, but it was really good, and so adaptable. You could just use plain pasta, any other kind of bean. It took less than 30 minutes, with only one pan to clean. With a nice crusty bread and a glass of red wine, it was an awesome winter meal. Brian liked it and actually had the leftovers for lunch the next day! Yay, Soup!

Stuffed Bell Peppers

New recipe! I've tried this twice now.

Bell Peppers Stuffed with Rice, Spinach, and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

From: One-Dish Vegetarian Meals by Robin Robertson
"The rich flavor of these stuffed peppers is enhanced by the smoky sweetness of the sun-dried tomatoes. The rice mixture may also be used to stuff zucchini or other vegetables or enjoyed on its own."

4 large green, red, or yellow bell peppers
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, packed in olive oil
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large bunch spinach, washed, trimmed, and coarsely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
3 to 4 cups cooked white or brown long-grain rice
1 tablespoon minced fresh Italian parsley
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 350 º F. Slice off the tops of the peppers and remove the seeds and membranes. Plunge the peppers into a pot of boiling water and cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until slightly softened. Remove the peppers from the water and set aside, cut side down, to drain. Chop the tomatoes and set aside.

2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the spinach, garlic, and tomatoes, and cook until the spinach is wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the rice, parsley, salt, and pepper and stir to combine. Fill the peppers with the rice mixture and place upright in a baking dish. Add a few tablespoons of water to the baking dish, cover, and bake until the peppers are tender, 30 to 40 minutes.

Once you have the gist of recipe, you really don't have to follow it completely. The first time I made this, the rice was a little too moist, so I added 2 TBSPs of pine nuts and 1/4 cup chopped green onion. The second time, the rice was a little dry, so I added some extra olive oil. The second time I didn't have parsley, but added about 2 tsp of dried herbs (oregano, thyme, etc). Both times I made it, I brushed the outside of the pepper with a wee bit of olive oil. The first time I made it, I just yellow peppers. The second time I used yellow, red, and green. It was good with all kinds.

Delicious both times! The extras kept well for lunch the next day too.