ccsa friends and more

a last minute get together with rahul and kevin led to a menu of:

- tonnarelli al burro e rosmarino
- braciola di maiale arrostita con salvia e vino bianco
- broccoli rosolati con burro e parmigiano
(- frozen red pepper and chicken pizza)
(- fried hot italian sausage)
(- baked italian meatballs)
(- anise-scented rasberry tart)
(- french vanilla ice cream)

how can only 3 people eat that much? funny story... first, it was 2. then 3. then 4.... then 5... then 6? and then a roommate thrown in for fun. hahaha, the joys of 510b london hall.

tonnarelli is a square-shaped handmade pasta that my friend claudia and i worked on for a good hour. not that it was particularly difficult, but chatting and dry air caused us to have to work the dough a lot more than we though. on the up hand, no clumps here! the pasta was litteraly dipped into hot water before it was ready to be thrown into the pan of flavours butter (i didn't end up straining it like the recipe said, but i liked it. it showed the ingredients which added an element of beauty to the final dish.)

i've come to the conclusion that braised anything will end up beautifully if you just give it time. the pork was fall of the bone, but again, maybe because there was so much else happening on the table, the subtle flavours that i was looking for in the dish just didn't come through. it's too bad. i think i'm missing something - flavour. need to remedy this soon...

broccoli (and other winter veggies) and butter. really? need i say more?

this dinner shows that one of the most important components to any dinner, is people - good people; good friends. the food may not have been perfect, but laugher and memories are the things that matter most.

3 more down, so... 481 to go!

dinner with heather

i can't believe that it's only been 5 days since i've last written, yet, there's so much to report on!

so, i left off at dinner with my roommate from last year, heather.

on the menu that night:
- spaghetti all'amatriciana
- pollo arrostito con del rosmarino, aglio e vino bianco
- carote brasate con parmigiano
- croccante

i've only ever really had the luxury of  cooking with someone once in my life - when i was in first year during the elgin hall "iron chef" competition. however, luck of luck, my friend brandt (who loves to cook) came by to drop something off; one thing led to another and before i knew it, i was cooking along side a good friend. it was interesting because we were both sort of quiet with brief comments or instructions thrown in for good measure, which is completely different than the general chaos that is my family kitchen. but, with just 2 hours before heather was due to arrive, savouring the moment couldn't last long as we sped through the preparation of the chicken dish first (because it takes ~40 mins) and the carrots (which brandt chopped up). the amatriciana sauce was the last to hit the stove because it needed the least time. before an hour was up, everything was ready to go and beginning the process of heating pans took up the entire stove. before i could blink, everything was browning or sauteeing, developing flavours that would come out later on.

what i didn't expect, was the acrid kick of the tomatoes at the start of the amatriciana sauce. i edited the recipe by adding a little sugar to help it along, and i like to think that it made a difference in the end result. but, can i just say that the sauce was incredible!?!? spicy and rich, with the mellow pancetta dissolved completely in the thick tomato paste that seems to have come from the liquidy diced tomatoes i used.

i was a little disappointed with the chicken because i didn't feel like the flavours really came through. maybe i just need more flavour because i'm used to chicken now, but heather seemed to like it and i guess, when you're entertaining, that's all that important.

never having consciously eaten braised carrots, it was a pleasant surprise at the intense orange and golden colour that developed and the sweet, almost dessert, sugary taste that was in every bite. incredible. countered with that touch of pungent salty flavour of the parmesan cheese and you've got fireworks for your mouth.

the dessert was delicious, as i mentioned in my other post. definitely well recieved and will be made again.

3 more down, 484 to go

Some past dishes...

Ricotta Coffee Cream

Pork Loin Braised in Milk and Bay Leaf

Pork Loin Braised in Vinegar, Pepper and Bay Leaf

White Bean Soup

Breaded Eggplant Cutlets

completed but not reported

so i didn't completely forget about this for a month and a half, i just couldn't report on it. so here's the list with a short blurb on each - no photos, sorry! i'll try for the next ones!

Minestrone alla Romagnola
- vegetable soup, romagna style
basic minestrone that you see at the restaurants, but 10000 times better because it's not over salted, mellow and rustic, gets better with time, great for reheating from the freezer

Minestrone con riso e basilico alla Milanese
- summer vegetable soup with rice and basil, milan style
not for reheating from the freezer, more creamy than the first, basil changes everything! i understand that basil can make it more summery, but i'm still feeling like it's too heavy for the summer/ hot weather

Salsa a melanzane con pomodori e chili rossi
- eggplant sauce with tomato and red chili pepper
good for entertaining or not, can be used as spread in pita

Salsa di melanzane e ricotta alla Siciliana
- eggplant and ricotta sauce, sicilian style
ricotta has to grow on me, not 100% sold, but the flavours were more complex than previous and really beautiful with the touches of green basil thrown in

Risotto con porcini
- risotto with procini mushrooms
1st attempt at making risotto, definitely should have made it right before serving, oops. porcini are strong in flavour but overall good. need to redo b/c the crucial texture of risotto just wasn't there...

Frittata con cipolle frite e patate
- frittata with pan-friend onions and potatoes
a staple in any student's kitchen. eaten hot, cold or room temp, it's great. plus, can easily be wrapped/ packed for lunch on campus. added bonus: really inexpensive to make!

Melanzane Arrostito con Peperone e Cetriolo
- roasted eggplant with peppers and cucumber
refreshing appetizer, good colour, easy to make, make sure that raw veggie pieces are cut rather small

Melanzane Inpanata
- breaded eggplant cutlets
makes a great crust, good as part of an appetizers or on it's own with a piece of mozarella and fresh basil

25 down, 490 to go

two soups and a dessert

i'm back!!!! sorry for the long absentia - school, exams, holidays, conference... meh, the list could go on, but i'm back and am totally determined to get the adventure completed before i graduate in just a few short months...

on that note, 3 dishes to report on:
- zuppa degli spinachi
- zuppa d'orzo al Trentino
- croccante

ZUPPA DEGLI SPINACHI
- spinach soup


this would have been popeye's constant IV. it's a cream-based soup which turns a muted green colour from the spinach that is added. at first, i must admit to not liking it because the taste of the milk/cream was just too strong and the nutmeg came through much more than i thought. however, the next day when i warmed it up again for lunch, the flavours had had a chance to merry and come together into a warm blend of indistinguishable flavours. this was where the true beauty lay. if i could add something to the instructions, i'd probably say that the soup is best served the day AFTER it's made.

i ate it with crusty olive ciabatta and a side of over-easy egg (which, if broken in the soup bowl, makes the entire thing more creamy without the taste of milk). very tasty, but not what i would choose for the dead of winter. it's more a late-fall soup.

ZUPPA D'ORZO AL TRENTINO
-barley soup in the style of Trent

this soup was delicious from the moment it was made (i think it's because it really did sit for a long time on the stove mellowing the flavours. ) you make the barley and the flavoured oil seperate then add them together, throw in the carrots and the potatoes and let it come to a slow simmer for as long as you'd like. the result is a creamy looking thick-ish soup that coats your sides and leaves you full, but looking forward to the next bowl. yum. a definite keeper for cold days.

it uses pancetta - the italian bacon. i found working with it rather interesting because it really is just a big slab of fat with only the tiniest bit of meat on one side. raw, it doesn't really have a strong smell (unlike proscuitto) but cooked, the subtle flavours of it come out. this becomes one of the dominant flavours in the dish and is very similar to fried bacon (with out the smokiness).

CROCCANTE
- italian praline

this is possible one of the easiest desserts i've ever made. it takes 2 ingredients: sugar and almonds. while it does take time to skin and chop the almonds, the result is a beautifully golden sheet of caramel/almond goodness. i may have just found the equivalent of my brother in law's christmas candy...

this it for now! tomorrow i cook for my ex-room mate. on the menu:
- pasta all'Amatricina
- pan roasted chicken with rosemary, garlic and white wine
- braised carrots with parmesan
- croccante and esspresso

ciao!

a bit of sage-ly advice

i know that i made this a while back (ie during the halloween party) but i realized that i never actually wrote about how it was made and what i learnt and have since been applying to the recipes i've been making lately.

nikki and sarah had been making fresh butternut squash ravioli all afternoon while i was dealing with the chicken and cabbage braise, when the time for saucing and plating the ravioli came around. i knew in theory (and of course via marcella's cooking bible) how to make the sage sauce that was so called for in terms of the restaurant's version and even by a similar recipe in the book. the idea of flavouring oil is not foreign to me so i thought "why not, i can totally do this" so, off i went.

i was impatient so i heated the pan quickly on high and turned it down to medium as called for by the recipe. next, in went a hunck of butter that melted faster than i was ready for and started to caramalize before i even had a chance to harvest the sage from my pot. luckily, my friend lauren came to the rescue and grabed me a bunch that i quickly threw into the pan of heated butter. oops... my bad. i didn't burn instantly, but it didn't do that lovely poof-ing action that i saw jaime oliver's sage do just that morning on tv. (i swear, the world of television is magical. even the worst of foods can look good! gah... please transfer some of that magic to my residence kitchen... please???)

so the sage leaves were now past the golden brown colour and verging on deep caramel (which i know means that the oil/pan are too hot). "crap! i still need to throw in the pecans!" so i toss them in. sizzle sizzle sizzle. "crap! stop the heat, victoria! before everything turns a not so pleasant deep.... black!?!" says my little inner voice so, what do i do? take the boiled ravioli and try and save it.

i throw in the cooked ravioli and plate it, crumble the goat cheese and serve.

result: yum.

now, whether or not it was the pasta (which i think it was) or the combination of sauce and pasta and cheese, i'm not sure, but all i know is that the ravioli were the first thing to go and everyone was very happy.

so, what did i learn?
- don't be impatient. let the pan heat slowly and you will be well rewarded.
- have all ingredients on hand BEFORE starting, especially if you're anything like me and a novice at having 2-3 different new dishes on the stove happening at once
- have great friends around when cooking. it just makes preparing and then eating the food that much more enjoyable.

so no, i didn't master this recipe, but i'm determined to get it right so day within the next 7 months (for that's all that i have left!!!!!!!) with what i've learnt, i've now infused olive oil with rosemary and it turned out fabulously. so world, look out. oil infusions are coming in!!!!!

count: 18 down, 501 to go

later guys!

stick to your bones good: White Bean Soup with Garlic and Parsley

who knew that such simple and plain ingredients could yield a soup such as this? i know the title doesn't seem very interesting but hey, what's a hungry student with minimal ingredients to do when faced with the minor problem of feeding herself? (in fact, i find myself wondering how tasty any of the recipes are going to be with plain names such as this one...) answer: flip through the book until she finds a recipe that uses what she already has on hand, of course!

like i mentioned in my Chick Pea Soup blog, i cooked up a pot of white beans while waiting for the chick peas to do their thing. the next day, i took the beans, boiled them (actually, i over boiled them and they turned into a semi-solid state of mush, but it actually worked in my favour this time round...) and got ready for another long long wait before a new pot of soup should magically appear on my stove top. nope, not this time round. with in 15 mins, the soup was ready to eat! incredible!

i admit that it took two tries to get the seasoning right (i guess i tend to under season out of the "no salt" policy that exists in my house) but a little more salt, fresh ground pepper, and most importantly, fresh parsley, was thrown in, magic really did happen. i mean, it took this soup from a state of "blah" to a state of... well, i think nikki's response says it all.

first time round, "it's good, but needs some more salt and pepper" (at this point, i hadn't added in the parsley yet). second time round (with the adjustments) she needed three times just to "make sure that everything was just right". sweet perfection.

because the soup was finished late at night, i covered it and put it into the fridge for consumption the next day. i guess that overnight, not only did the flavours come together more but so did the soup itself! serving myself was more that slapping down balls of off-white goop that dishing up a bowl of soup... :S i ended up having to dilute the soup with some hot water while warming because it was just too thick. granted that the recipe did say that you could serve this as a side dish to roast veal, i'd say that soup is meant to have at least sooooommmmeeee liquid....

at any rate, the soup was delicious and definitely filling. i was pleasantly surprised when, after 6 hours, dinner was just a distant thought. (i usually need to feed myself every 4 hours or so)

in conclusion, this soup is perfect for us students heading into exam period. it doesn't really need any work (aside from preplanning the soaking of the beans) and will keep us filled and fueled for our long hours in the library. on top of that, litteraly pennies to make. definitely a keeper.

and so my friends, the count is 17 down, 502 to go.