Additional Recipes for Newspaper Column

Cooking with kale in Provincetown - Caldo Verde - Portuguese kale soup

 

 

Making Fried Green tomatoes - soak in buttermilk, coat in cornmeal and flour.  Fry

Picking Apples in the Hudson Valley - making caramel applesauce; wine baked apples; and just eating them

 

Hello, Thank you to the readers who've asked where I've been.   I've circling around the Northeast since we last met.  And thinking about you and a new post - BUT.  There's always a "but" - isn't there?   I need to deliver a weekly food column for the Hudson-Catskill Media group and sometimes it takes all the food news out of me. I also have a few other projects that I'm working on - etc. etc. etc.


http://www.registerstar.com/columnists/food_for_thought/article_04ae68f0-455b-11e3-b8ec-001a4bcf887a.html

I promised the readers of the newspapers where my column is featured that I would add some recipes that are part of  the Timballo di Maccheroni  recipe in November first's column.  There just wasn't enough room to include everything .

So, here are the recipes for those of you who have read the column - and the column for you who haven't yet read it. 

RAGU NAPOLETANO  (Arthur Schwartz - "Naples at Table", HarperCollins, 1998)

Schwartz says, "This is a contemporary recipe for ragu.  If you read the old ones you would probably never cook ragu...some old recipes have three kinds of fat...and olive oil for browning the meat.   There are recipes, though rare, that also throw butter into the mix."

Makes 4 cups sauce, enough for 1 1/2pounds pasta, serving 8

1/2 pound well-trimmed pork cut in large chunks, or sweet Italian sausage
1/2 pound lean stewing veal, cut in large chunks
1/2 pound well-trimmed chuck or shoulder, cut in large chunks
1  medium onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup hearty red wine
2   28-ounce cans peeled plum tomatoes (not drained)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
big pinch hot red pepper flakes

1.   In a 4- to 5-quaert pot or stovetop casserole, combine the meats (except sausage , if using, which gets added later), the onion, and the olive oil.   Place over medium heat and sear the meat.  It will immediately exude juices.  Keep cooking, stirring frequently, until the meat juices have evaporated and the meats and the onions are light brown, at least 10 minutes.
2.   Add wine and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the wine evaporates.  The meat will be a much darker brown now.
3.   Pass the tomatoes through a food mill- directly into the pot if you like - and stir them into the meat.   Add the sausage, if using.  Add salt and hot pepper and stir again.   Simmer gently for 2 1/2 - 3 hours.  Stir every 15 minutes or so, but after about an hour, before stirring, skim any fat off the surface that you consider excess.  (If the meats are lean, there is usually no more than a couple of tablespoons of fat, and you'll want to leave it in the sauce.)   Also, every time you stir, remember to stir down any sauce that will have condensed on the side of the pot just above its surface.   When done, the ragu will have a dark color and a thick consistency.
4.   Let the sauce cool slightly, but strain out or pick out the meat while it is still warm.  Check for salt and pepper.
5.   Serve the sauce very hot on pasta or use it in other recipes as indicated.  The meat can be served as a separate course, or on another day.  Both the sauce and the meat can be kept in the refrigerator for up to a week, much longer in the freezer.    After a week of refrigerator storage, if it is necessary to keep the sauce longer, bring it to a simmer, then refrigerate it again.   It will need to be reseasoned when reheated for use.



TIMBALLO PASTRY

3 cups cake flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold butter
1 large egg
5 to 6 tablespoons milk

Combine the dry ingredients in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, then add the butter cut into 1-inch pieces.  Pulse the flour mixture and butter together until the mixture resembles coarse meal.  In a small bowl, beat together the egg and the lesser amount of milk, then pour it into the work bowl.    Pulse a dozen or so times to mix thoroughly, then let the motor run a few seconds, until the dough gathers into a ball.  If the dough seems dry and doesn't quite hold together, add a little more milk.  Remove the dough from the food processor bowl and place it on a board.  Knead it a few times.  Let it rest under a kitchen towel.  Divide the dough into two portions, one about 3/4 of the dough for the bottom of the timballo/drum, the remaining 1/4 for the top crust.  Form two 1-inch thick disks, wrap them in plastic, and refrigerate (to rest) for at least 30 minutes.  (If refrigerated longer, return to room temperature before rolling).

SUSANSIMONSAYS:    I'll try to be more timely with future blogs.  We're approaching shorter, darker and colder days.  The kind of days that make being in front of a hot stove one of the more comfortable - and pleasurable -  places to be.

Favorite Things #2

I like this idea of doing a favorite things post every now and then.  You know the Quakers never celebrated holidays because they thought that every day was reason to celebrate.  That's a little bit how I feel when I make a favorite food in the middle of the week with nothing more in mind than, for example, just having a slice of warm, brimming-with-flavor meatloaf.  And, the thought that it'll be be sitting in the fridge for days waiting to be sliced and stuffed between 2 slices of toasted quinoa bread from Loaf and a few bread and butter pickles making a sublime sandwich thrills me.

I developed this meatloaf recipe on September 17th 2004 to be exact.  (I have a habit of recording memorable meals, whew - it turns out to serve me well) for a Sunday night Scrabble game that I used to play with some regularity with my friend, John.   The meatloaf never ceases to amaze - mostly me.   I have rarely deviated from the exact recipe that I recorded more than 7 years ago.  Until now.    I buy my ground pork and beef from Pigasso Farms - sometimes directly from them at the Hudson Farmer's Market - but, throughout the winter months from Lick the Market - where it's sold in 1 1/2 pound packages.   So, instead of 2 pounds of ground beef and 1 pound of ground pork as per the original recipe I use equal measurements of each.   The difference in the two recipes is subtle.  My Hudson meatloaf tastes even more like a country pate than the first NYC version.   Where did I just read a quote from a chef  saying that the best meatloaf should taste like pate?

I've always made mealoaf Italian-style, adding milk-soaked chunks of bread to the meat in order to keep the whole loaf moist - however, when I made this one the first time I happened to have a quart of whole milk yogurt and a pound of feta cheese in the refrigerator.  I asked myself, why not try those ingredients instead of milk-soaked bread? I did - it was AMAZING - just the flavor and texture that I had always desired.  I've never looked back.

AMAZING MEATLOAF

Makes a 10-inch by 7-inch loaf

1 1/2 pounds round beef
1 1/2 pounds ground pork
3 eggs
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 1/2 cups plain, whole milk yogurt
3/4 cup unseasoned breadcrumbs
2 cloves finely chopped garlic
1/2 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
1 teaspoon salt

Topping:
1/2 cup catsup
1/4 cup prepared Dijon mustard
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1.   Add the beef, pork, eggs, feta cheese, yogurt, breadcrumbs, garlic, parsley and salt to a large bowl.  Using your hands, thoroughly and carefully blend all the ingredients.
2.   Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.   Make the topping:  in a small bowl add the catsup, mustard and Parmesan cheese, and thoroughly combine.
3.   Place two sheets of parchment paper on a baking sheet or jelly roll pan.  Place the meat mixture on the top sheet of parchment paper and form into a loaf measuring approximately 10-inches by 7-inches.  Cover the loaf with the topping mixture.  Loosely close the loaf with the top layer of parchment paper.  Bake for 45 minutes.   Uncover and bake for 20 - 30 minutes until the outside is browned - slightly black.
4.   Serve immediately.  Leftover meatloaf can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Adding a poached dish to the top of any dish of leftover food immediately elevates right back up to an original dish with its own very special sauce.   I'm particularly enamoured of topping leftover pasta with a poached egg.  I like breaking the egg open and watching the bright yellow yolk run all over the pasta (this time with sauteed kale and blistered grape tomatoes) creating the most sumptuous and creamy sauce. Don't forget a generous sprinkle of grated Parmesan cheese as the perfect counterpart to the egg and punctuation for the pasta.

I'm so happy to see the local supermarket shelves stocked with Passover provisions.  In particular, the Shoprite carries my favorite, Yehuda organic matza.  It's thin and super crispy.  Besides, #1 chewing on matza row by row, #2 spreading butter and almond butter on it, I like to make, #3, matza brei - or fried matza.  I favor salty matza brei - but when cooked, this pancake-like dish can be topped with cinnamon and sugar, or maple syrup or honey butter to consume. 
The first night of Passover is on April 6th.

MATZA BREI
for 1

1 sheet matza, broken into pieces and soaked in water until slightly soft
1 large, or 2 small eggs
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste - or any other topping

1.  Drain the soaked matza and add to a mixing bowl.  Add the eggs and mix to thoroughly combine with the matza.
2.  Add the butter to a small frying pan over medium heat.  Let the butter brown (my preference).   Add the egg mixture to the pan and fry until the sides appear crisp and golden.  Flip over and brown the other side.
3.  Serve immediately with your choice of topping.

I like that I can walk to the train station in Hudson, get on Amtrak and be in NYC's Penn Station in just under 2 hours.  That's just what I did on March 17th.  You're an idiot, you say?  Well, yes, there were lots of drunken leprechauns on the city's streets but I managed to sidestep them right through a delicious lunch at Il Buco Alimentari - tiny fried artichokes all golden crunchy on the outside and warm, soft artichoke creaminess on the inside, and grilled octopus, exquisitely charred and served with a salad of chick peas and currants.  My mouth is still watering.  A few errands, a visit with dear friends and a magical birthday celebration in candle-lit rooms filled with various sized transparent helium ballons capped the lovely day in grand style.
I'm happy that I found, on such a tumultuous NYC eve, a cab to take me back to Penn station in plenty of time to catch my train home.


SUSANSIMONSAYS:

So nice to see pal Stella (known to me as Stella, Wella, Bella) looking so good in her  East Village window throne.

Italy Dish by Dish

I'm pleased to announce the publication of my new book, Italy Dish by Dish.  Well, mine per moda di dire, so to speak - I translated Mangia Italiano, a guide to the regional specialities of Italy written by Monica Cesari Sartoni, from  Italian to English.
I bought the original about 15 years ago in Italy and it has accompanied me on every trip that I make to that country.  When the publisher -The Little Bookroom - of my book, Shopping in Marrakech talked about wanting to find an in-depth guide book to both Italian and French cuisines for the traveler, I said, "I've got an Italian one for you".   Fast-forward, I spent most of the dreary months of last winter simultaneously translating the mouth-watering text, and  starved, with every word that glided into English from the original Italian.  The guidebook is divided by the regions of Italy and within each region there are entries for every part of a meal from antipasti to vini .   The descriptions of each dish most often include the ingredients of the dish and  the method of  its preparation.   Hmmm, I thought - for those with a little knowledge of cooking most of the delicious descriptions can easily be turned into delicious food.
I chose a really easy entry for my first try.  

In the Campania part of the book, in the section entitled, "Pasta, Gnocchi, Rice, Polenta, and Grains"  there's an entry for Fusilli alla vesuviana, that reads, " twisted pasta shapes dressed with fresh tomato sauce, mozzarella, pecorino and oregano and then baked".
Naples is the capital city of  the  region of Campania.  You could say that tomatoes, mozzarella and oregano are emblematic foods of the area.  
I made the description into a recipe in the first few days of March, in New York City.  Alas, no fresh tomatoes.  I cheated the flavor a bit by mixing a cooked, simple tomato sauce (that I mentioned in the last blog entry) with some chopped, fresh cherry tomatoes.  At this time of  the year, organic cherry or grape tomatoes seem to have more flavor than any other, very red, so-called fresh tomatoes. To my palate, those tomatoes taste something like a cross between a pink angora sweater and and an unripe watermelon. Save this recipe to make again, sometime in August,  with big thick slices of  fabulous, slurpy heirloom tomatoes.
Here's what I came up with:

Serve 6 - 8

Make a simple tomato sauce:
1/4 cup olive oil
2 or 3 cloves garlic peeled, cut into 2 or 3 pieces
1 hot pepper, minced
1 35-ounce  (2 pounds, 3 ounces) tin of  peeled San Marzano (from Campania) tomatoes, stem end removed and squeezed through your hands
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt

1.   Add the olive oil, garlic and hot pepper to a deep saucepan over medium heat and saute until the garlic is golden about 90 seconds.  Add the tomatoes, oregano and salt.  Cook until the sauce is slightly reduced, about 30 - 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, add 1 pound fusilli (I used cavatappi , because I had them in my pantry) to a large pot of boiling, salted water, and cook according to the  manufacturer's directions.  Drain and run cool water over them to completely halt the cooking.

Coarsely chop 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes.

Cut 3/4 pound whole milk mozzarella in to 1/4-inch cubes - should yield 2 cups.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Add the cooked pasta, 2 cups of the simple tomato sauce - garlic removed (there will be some leftover - store in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer for future use), the chopped fresh tomatoes, and mozzarella to a large bowl and stir to combine. Taste for salt and add as needed (remember that the pecorino cheese topping will add lots of salt).   Add the mixture to a baking dish.  Sprinkle the top with 1/4 cup grated pecorino cheese.  Drizzle some extra virgin olive oil over the top.   Bake until the top is golden and the sides of the dish are bubbling, about 30 minutes.   Serve immediately.

SUSANSIMONSAYS:  I want to believe that this dish is called alla vesuviana not only for  Mount Vesuvius, which is the background to Naples, but also because of the way the mozzarella erupts inside the pasta, just like the volcano on top of the mountain  has - well, at least once in the last 100 years.