Asparagus, again

I had all good intentions of making this entry close on the heels of my last post, Asparagus, Finally - but BLOGGER, the host of this blog - lost my last post and then stayed down for awhile.  The excuse is a little better than "the dog ate my homework" - isn't it?
A few weeks ago, when there was a lovely, sunny and dry Saturday a couple of friends came over for afternoon tea.   Great chance to see these friends and a a great opportunity to cook some more asparagus.
The savory asparagus-ricotta tart, made with an olive oil crust rang just the right note with icy hibiscus tea, which turned into hibiscus tea margaritas - or something like that - before you could say muy bueno.

The olive oil crust is basically a pasta frolla - shortbread, that uses olive oil for fat rather than butter.  It's crunchy - almost cracker-like, and a perfect little platter for ricotta and roasted asparagus.

ASPARGUS AND RICOTTA TARTS

Tarts like this one can be served as a contorno, a side dish to an antipasto offering of  cured meats like prosciutto, soppressata and speck.  They're also a perfect teatime savory - served just as I did.  After all, teatime quickly segues into cocktail hour and before you know it it's time for antipasto.  Well, this way you'll get a jump start.

Serves 4 - 8

for the pastry
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt

filling
1 1/2 pounds asparagus, tough bottoms removed, peeled to within 1 inch of the tips
5 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
fresh chives, cut into 2-inch lengths - optional

1.   Make the pastry: in a food processor, combine the flour, olive oil, eggs, and salt and process until a dough forms, less than 1 minute.  Divide the dough in half, form each half into a disk, wrap separately in waxed paper or plastic wrap, and chill for at least 10 minutes.
2.   Make the filling:  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.   Place the asparagus on a baking sheet with sides and cover with te 5 teaspoons olive oil.  Use your hands to thoroughly coat the stalks.  Roast until pale gold- about 10-12 minutes.  Remove from oven.
3.   Lower oven temperature to 375 degrees F.  Remove pastry from refrigerator and let come to room temperature, a botu 15 minutes.   On a lightly floured, smooth surface, roll out one of the disks into a 1/4-inch-thick circle.  Use two metal spatulas to place it on one side of an 11 1/2-by-17 1/2-inch baking sheet (I usually cover the sheet with parchment paper).   Use your thumb and forefinger to roll in and pinch the edge to create a little rim.  Repeat this with the remaining disk.  Spread half of the ricotta on the bottom of each pastry.  Place half of the asparagus, in a decorative way, over each layer of ricotta.  Sprinkle half of the Parmesan and salt over the top of each tart.
Bake until the pastry is golden, about 30 minutes.   Let cool on a rack just a bit, then cut each tart into 4 wedges.   Garnish with chives, if using, and serve immediately.

I made the hibiscus tea according to instructions given to me by my friend (and one of my guests), Amy Chaplin, of Coconut and Quinoa.   Amy gave me my first packet of dry hibiscus petals - and these directions:   steep the tea - about 1 heaping tablespoon per cup of boiling water - sweeten with agave syrup to sweeten to taste.  A spritz of fresh lime juice to finish.   Drain the tea after 5 - 10 minutes and serve this breathtakingly beautiful drink over ice with a slice of lime.  If you're so inclined - and it's 5 pm somewhere in the world, add a splash of tequila, white rum or vodka.
SUSANSIMONSAYS: Guess what? Research has proven that hibiscus tea will lower high blood pressure.   Soothe hypertension.  How's that - beautiful, delicious, and healthy.  Sounds just right to me.
Find both loose hibiscus tea and tea bags at Republic of Tea.
BTW - my friend, Maryam - My Marrakesh -  tells me that the Egyptians sweeten their hibiscus tea with vanilla-flavored sugar.

Delicious, In-Between-The-Seasons Salads

I get to the point where I just can't bear to look at another box of  mixed baby greens,  baby arugula, hearts of romaine or  a wilted head of green leaf lettuce - even if they are all organic.  They all taste the same.  As I anxiously await the first heads of local lettuce - I'd trade, hmmm, what would I trade for a head of slightly bitter oak leaf lettuce, a bunch of just-picked (dandelions mixed in) peppery rucola, and a head of buttery Boston lettuce - well, I'll trade anyone of the below salads that I've been making to take their place.  These salads may require a bit more effort than simply rinsing and drying leaves and dressing them with fruity olive oil and fragrant vinegar - but they'll satisfy.  For sure.  As a matter fact, bring some of the "in-between" salad ingredients forward with you to mix with fresh lettuce leaves. Especially, nuts, seeds, and fresh herbs - they add color and texture - and nutrients.

PINK GRAPEFRUIT AND AVOCADO SALAD

I made this one for  Easter Sunday luncheon.  It was a beautiful day and my Easter bunny guests - and their adorable French bull dog, came to me after parading their splendorous finery on 5th Avenue.  Bill Cunningham caught them all in On the Street - Easter Parade 2011, his New York Times column that appeared in the paper, Sunday, May 1st.  We started our casual, by now traditional, lunch with this very pretty salad.  I choose it for color, pink and green, and for the way  creamy, nutty avocados mix with sweetly tart, explode-in-your-mouth grapefruit.  I added toasted hazelnuts for crunch, and chives for their defining flavor and because I have many pots of them in my garden.  My first springtime crop!

Serves 4

2 pink or red grapefruits
2 avocados, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons chopped toasted hazelnuts
1 tablespoon chopped chives, plus a few whole blades for garnish
2 teaspoons vincotto or aged balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon fruity extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
romaine lettuce leaves for serving

1.  Remove the sections from the grapefruit:  use a very sharp paring  knife to peel away the skin, then the white pith from the fruit.  Using the same sharp knife, carefully remove the segments one at a time by cutting between the fruit and membrane.   Remove the seeds from the segments.  Add to a mixing bowl.
Add the avocado pieces, chives and hazelnuts.
2.  In small bowl whisk together the vincotto, olive oil and salt.   Add to the larger bowl and carefully toss ingredients together.
3.  Serve, immediately (or the ingredients will discolor) on a bed of torn romaine lettuce leaves.

PINEAPPLE AND CARROT SALAD

I love pineapple - you may know this from other blog entries.  There must be a huge harvest  going on right now in Costa Rica as I keep buying them by the twos - two for 5 bucks.  Irresistible!   Instead of making dessert with them I'm now using pineapple for a savory salad - sort of.   I enjoy eating my version, basically a combination of two retro salads;  pineapple, and carrot, with marinated tofu, with a frittata,  or with roast chicken.

Serves 6 - 8

1 golden pineapple, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
4 carrots, peeled and grated (I used a box grater - not worth getting a food processor dirty for 4 carrots)
1/3 cup Thompson raisins
1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
1 heaping tablespoon good quality mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon sherry vinegar - or another fruity vinegar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1.  Add the pineapple, carrots, raisins, and sesame seeds to a bowl.  Toss together to evenly distribute the ingredients. 
2.  In a small bowl whisk together the mayonnaise, vinegar and oil.   Add to the large bowl and combine with the other ingredients.   Serve immediately.   Salad can be refrigerated in a tightly sealed container for up to a week.

RED CABBAGE AND APPLE SALAD

This salad is kind of a relative to the pickled red cabbage - another blog.   I toast the walnuts for this salad, just as I did the hazelnuts for the previous salad, because it brings out - emphasizes their flavor, and gives them extra crunch.  Once made it  lasts for up to a week in the refrigerator, and retains its crispiness.  

Serves 6 - 8

juice and zest of 1 lime
2 apples such as fuji or gala, cored and thinly sliced on a mandolin
1/2 red cabbage, cored and thinly sliced on a mandolin
1/2 cup toasted walnuts
1 heaping tablespoon coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1.   Add all the ingredients to the bowl in the above order - lime first and the olive oil last.  Thoroughly mix together.  I used my hands in order to evenly distribute all the components.   Let sit for at least an hour before serving.

SUSANSIMONSAYS: I went out to the borough of Queens again a few days ago.  This time it was to visit the wonderful Greek supermarket, Titan.   If you go - you must carefully peruse every aisle and pay special attention to the enormous selection of a Greek favorite, spoon fruits.  Jars of all sizes and shapes are filled with figs, cherries, sliced oranges and so on preserved in syrup.  Don't miss the handmade orzo; jars of taramasalata; bags of rusks; cans and bottles of olive oil; dried herbs; honey; preserved-in-brine grapes leaves - just for starters.  In the back of the market find a case of what seems to be the Himalayan mountain range, but it's really a selection of various kinds of feta cheese.  Near the cheese cases find barrels filled with kind of olive imaginable.    In the front of the market there's a bakery.  I can't resist baklava - and I didn't.  However, I discovered a new Greek sweet whose name eludes me.  It's a soft, soaked-in-syrup pastry filled with sesame paste - a kind of halvah.  The impression that I got with my first bite was "this is the best peanut butter cookie I've ever eaten".   It's beyond peanut butter cookie - soft and sweet, smooth with a slight sesame seed crunch. Heaven.

New Look, Quick Recipe, Delicious Restaurant

I've modified the blog's look a bit.  You might say that I dressed it in Spring clothes.   I had a feeling that it may  have been too dark.   So, out came the pastel hues - lighter colored banner, and a lighter background.  The type is darker too.  Is it easier to read?  Hmmm...

Springtime in the market means lots of things, not the least of which is the arrival of mountains of sole fillets.  So many that they were on sale at my local Whole Foods market for what appeared to be the very reasonable price of $6.99 a pound.   I love crispy-crusted fish whether deep-fried or sauteed 'til it crackles.  I don't love the mess that style of cooking creates on my stove top and the thin film of oil that generally settles around my kitchen.  To satisfy my craving, and need for neatness I developed a perfectly crispy, highly-flavored oven fried fillet of sole - or flounder.  You might think that sole and flounder are the same fish - easy assumption as their fillets are similar looking - but , no - they aren't even the the same species.  Both are flat fish - and sole is the more prestigious of the two ( I'm as pleased by one as the other) and is oval-shaped while flounder is a rounder, and thicker fish. 
The recipe includes some of my favorite ingredients.

Garlicky,Spicy Oven-Fried Fillets of Sole or Flounder

Serves 2 - 4, or one with plenty of leftovers for fish sandwiches with Romaine lettuce leaves and tartar on toasted any kind of bread.

1 pound sole or flounder fillets
1/2 lemon, juice only
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small hot pepper, minced or 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3/4 cup unseasoned breadcrumbs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
parchment paper

1.   Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.   Line a sheet pan with sides with parchment paper.  Place the fillets on the paper and sprinkle lemon juice over them.

2.   In a small skillet over medium heat melt the butter in the olive oil.  Add the garlic and hot pepper.  When the garlic just begins to turn gold, 60 - 90 seconds, lower the heat, add the breadcrumbs and salt.  Toss together to combine.   Turn off the heat and stir in the parsley.

3.   Cover the fish fillets with he breadcrumb mixture.   Bake for 5 - for the sole - 6 or 7 minutes for the flounder.   Serve immediately.

My favorite way to eat the fish is on top of a tossed - simply with extra virgin olive oil and aged balsamic vinegar - salad.  A forkful of vinegary-sweet, pungent oily leaves with a piece of  crunchy, crumbly, garlicky fish is a huge pleasure.

SUSANSIMONSAYS:

  Serendipity defined the discovery of Kebab Cafe! at 25-12 Steinway Street (718-728-9858 - no website) in Queens, New York.  I mean, duh!!!   Are my friend Roy, and I the last food-centric people on the NYC planet to find our way to Ali El Sayed's charming hole in the wall?  First of all who goes to an Arabic neighborhood on a Friday afternoon and expects to find an exceptional meal.  We did, and we did.    I had read about Mombar, an Egyptian restaurant a few doors away on Steinway Street, owned by who I now know is Ali's brother, Moustapha - but is only open  for dinner.  Moustapha happened to be near the open door of his restaurant as we walked by so I asked him - boldly - if he might like to make lunch for us.  "Sorry", he said, "I don't open 'til 5".   "Where should we eat ?", I wondered, out loud.  "Everything seems to be closed".  "Go down the street, just in front of the bus stop", he directed.  "Is it good?"   "It's my brother's place."   So, we walked into the Kebab Cafe! (yes, exclamation point). After we sat, a young man asked us what we'd like to drink and gave us a verbal list of their offerings.  We chose hibiscus tea.  He took our order and told us to wait a minute for Ali who was somewhere nearby having a coffee.    Ali arrived, changed into his chef's whites and also gave us a verbal list of food choices.  We choose, at Ali's suggestion, the cafe's signature mezze (appetizers) plate.   Now, here's where patience is truly a virtue.   The hibiscus tea arrived about 30 minutes after we ordered it. Worth every sip. Ruby red, floral fragrant served in a glass with thin apple slices floating on top, it stung our mouths with its sweet and tangy taste.   The mezze came to our table about 30 minutes after the tea.  It too was worth the wait.   We were each given a small plate that was sprinkled with ground sumac (the berry of a flowering plant) and za'atar (ground mixture of Middle Eastern herbs and spices).  Then Ali brought a large plate with his mezze, "This is hummus, this is eggplant and zucchini vinaigrette, this is smoked eggplant also called baba ganoush, this is fouls (Egyptian fava beans), these are falafel made with fouls - and try this now with your fingers, it's fried bok choy leaves.  Here's a dish of seven peppers sauce".  We served ourselves from the large plate to our smaller spice-strewn plates and we ate, we dipped, we schmeared pita bread, apple and cucumber slices - we smiled, we oohed, we aahed.  I choked a bit - too much seven pepper sauce.  We were happy.  Good thing too.  We had to wait another 30 minutes for our main course, quail with pomegranate sauce. Oy!  Such splendor, you can't imagine.  The perfectly cooked, basically before our eyes as we ate mezze, and waited, dark and rich quail was roasted with layers of spices - some recognizable - some mysterious, then covered with an olive oil- pomegranate molasses sauce and showered with the ubiquitous ground sumac to serve. The quail sat on a bed of roasted eggplant, zucchini, onions and potatoes, with a few fresh basil leaves tucked in between - all drenched in that same sweet and sour sauce.  Ali cooked this food with a kind of casual, towel, flipped-over-your-shoulder elegance, that somewhat obscured the true mastery of  his craft.  You know, something like the way Fred Astaire danced.

I recited a list of ingredients to Ali that I thought might have gone into the making of the quail.  He just smiled and said, "Oh, I think I'll try your recipe".  

After lunch we took a walk back up Steinway Street to number 25-78, Laziza Bakery.  It was difficult to choose from the bakery's offerings but we managed to treat ourselves to their celebrated kunefa - a special Egyptian (but made all over the Middle East and Turkey) dessert made in its own special flat pan, covered with rose-water flavored syrup and garnished with chopped pistachios) and an assortment of their baklava  The bite-sized (better to sample a variety) baklava are unique in the world of honey-soaked, walnut-filled, phyllo-wrapped pastries.

Mango, Tango, Bango!!!

It's the time of the year -spring when those gorgeous little kidney bean-shaped  mangoes, the ataulfo, arrive from Central America to the produce bins of our nearby markets (they come out again in the fall). In markets with lots of space, the mangoes are displayed in their flattering, lavender colored boxes.  The ataulfo that I bought were called champagne mangoes and were imported exclusively by the Ciruli Brothers .  They're also called honey mangoes or Manila mangoes.  Regardless of their appellation they are the supreme mango, almost string less - none of that annoying fibre stuck between your teeth - with a firm, yet flexible texture.  Eating an ataulfo mango is something like eating pure mango flan.  Its firm flesh makes it the ideal ingredient for cutting into a perfect little dice and then adding to other ingredients to make a savory or sweet salad, chutney or salsa.

I made my favorite Seychelloise-style fresh fruit chutney to accompany the other components of a colorful meal.

3 Ataulfo mangoes, peeled, cut into approximate 1/2-inch pieces.  After it's peeled the mango is easily cut from top to bottom off both sides of the  pit, and then another slender slice on each side of it.  These sections are ready to make into perfect diced pieces.
2 scallions, white part (some tiny bit of pale green) chopped
1 Thai hot pepper, minced
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
zest and juice of 1 large juicy lime, or 2 small ones
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a medium bowl, toss all the ingredients together.  Cover the bowl and let sit in a cool spot for at least an hour until ready to serve.  Leftover chutney may be stored in a refrigerator in a tightly sealed container for up to a week.

The thing that gets me to decide what to eat as much as the ingredients themselves is their color.  The more vibrant the color the more I'm attracted to the ingredient.  To certify what seems to be whimsical reasoning I might add that the more vibrant the color the higher the nutritional value contained within the produce.   Ah - what a bonus.
RED fruits and vegetables, especially tomatoes contain a high amount of lycopene - an antioxidant.
ORANGE & YELLOW produce, including sweet potatoes, squash, pineapple, mangoes and carrots are high in beta carotene = vitamin A which helps dispel depression, headaches, heartburn and high blood pressure.
BLUE & PURPLE ingredients such as blueberries, blackberries, purple grapes, plums and eggplant contain anthocyanins = antioxidant.
GREEN the color that gives the whole category its name.  This produce is obvious, and gets its color from chlorophyll which = vitamins A,C,& K.  The fiber contained in the greens goes a long way to lower cholesterol.

Add, say, a bright, beautiful pile of pickled red cabbage on the plate with a mound of mango chutney and you've got another part of a trio flavors that will add up to a meal filled with more dips and swirls then most tangos danced in Buenos Aires.   For the pickled cabbage recipe I'm going to send you straight to my friend, Amy's blog, Coconut and Quinoa .

The protein portion of this group is my version of age tofu - fried  tofu.  In the Japanese kitchen cubes of tofu are covered in corn or potato starch and fried until golden then served in a hot broth made with mirin, dashi, sho-yu then topped with finely chopped green onions, and sometimes grated daikon radish.
Here's what I did:
2 large or  4 small shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
grapeseed or canola oil for frying
rice flour for coating
1 block firm, preferably organic tofu cut into 1 1/2-inch squares

1.  Fill a small skillet, over medium heat with about an inch of oil.  Add the sliced shallots and cook until golden - stir ocassionally or else the ones on the outer edge of the skillet will burn.  Remove the pale gold (they'll continue to cook as they cool) shallots from the oil with a strainer and drain on paper towels.  Reserve the oil.
2.   Add the rice  flour to a dinner plate.  Coat all sides of the tofu with the flour.  
3.   Reheat the shallot-flavored oil to medium.  Add the tofu, in batches, and fry until golden on all sides.  Drain on paper towels.  Serve hot - or at room temperature.

Compose your meal with a stack of tofu covered with fried shallots, a heap of pickled cabbage and
mango chutney.  All the better if you have a turquoise, navy blue or lime green plate for serving.  Bango! -here's a  meal of creamy tofu covered with a crackling crust topped with what seem to be mini fried onions rings, crunchy pickled cabbage, and fragrant, tangy fresh mango chutney.  Healthy? OMG, Yes!  For me, this meal tastes even better when eaten with chopsticks.

SUSANSIMONSAYS:   

This vintage sofa, newly upholstered with Lisa Corti fabric, from John Derian nourishes me visually in the same way as the meal I've just described.  Remember, feed all your senses.

Dinner and Scrabble for Two

About 7 or 8 years ago my friend, John, and I began a Sunday night tradition that continues to this day - Scrabble and dinner. Although our Sunday game and meal is not played with the frequency as it was in the beginning, it's become a custom .   The Sunday night dinners were, and are always at my house (other games and meals are enjoyed at John's place).  The opportunity to make meals for two that usually result in enough leftovers for up to 3 or 4 more meals is an irresistible undertaking for a single person like I am.  The possibility of  creating new recipes is also a big PLUS!  BTW - I've kept track of every single meal that I made for all our games (I have, however, neglected to keep track of  the winner of each game. hmmm).  For a recent installment of our mini Scrabble tournament I began the meal plan with dessert first.  Lemon Mousse.  Man, oh man, I had a deep desire for something bright and lemony.  This northeastern winter has dragged on for way too long. If the sun won't show itself in our sky then I was determined to make it to fill up our insides  My go-to lemon mousse recipe is Craig Claiborne's (now, there a name we don't hear enough these days!) from The New York Times,International Cook Book (Harper & Row, 1971).   More on dessert a little further down.  
In an entry dated September 17th, 2004 - Scrabble, John, I wrote "meatloaf - 2 lbs. beef, 1 lb. pork", and  a list of the other ingredients without measurements.  That first meatloaf was a huge success - no, it was an AMAZING success. So much that I made it again, and again until I got the ingredient list and measures just right.

AMAZING MEATLOAF

The loaf is super tasty when you eat it just out of the oven with its savory juices juices running - but, I'm just as satisfied to eat it the next day, cold from the refrigerator, sliced and made into a sandwich - on any kind of toasted bread -  garnished with sharp Dijon mustard and a pile of micro greens.  This meatloaf has a pate-like quality.  I admit, I'm lucky to be able to purchase, local, grass-fed ground beef to use for this dish.  I'm not sure that I would be able to be so cavalier about making meatloaf with its main ingredients coming from an unknown source.

Makes a 10-inch by 7-inch loaf

2 pounds ground beef
1 pound 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 tomato 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.

I served the meatloaf with two salads.  Again, the salads were in response to my desire for fresh and bright - in their case, crunchy too.   Salad #1 - thinly sliced radishes (sliced on a mandolin), crumbled feta cheese, lots of chopped, fresh, flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped black olives, extra virgin olive oil and white wine vinegar.   Salad #2 - shredded carrots dressed with tahini.  I made the tahini in a food processor with tahini (sesame paste), fresh lemon juice, garlic, a pinch of cayenne pepper, salt and  thinned with warm water until it reached the consistency of buttermilk.  Carrots were tossed with the tahini dressing.  The salad was garnished with za'atar - an Arabic spice blend that includes oregano, basil, thyme, savory, marjoram, sumac berries, sesame seeds and dried lemon peel.  Za'atar is available commercially, already blended.  My za'atar was a gift from Haifa, who makes it according to her Lebanese mother's recipe.   My starch of choice to accompany the meatloaf and salads was toasted pita bread.   We did not mourn the the lack of mashed potatoes!

LEMON MOUSSE

To continue the discussion as to why I love lemon mousse and this recipe in particular.  It tastes like the cloud-version of a sour lemon drop, and it marries so well with berries.  Visually it  knocks me out when combined with intense, purpley blueberries or shocking pink raspberries.   I just happened to have a pint of last summer's blueberries and plums cooked with my brother-in-law's Nantucket honey and creme de cassis, stashed in a lonely corner of my freezer which I was happy to thaw for the occasion.  Actually, I whipped a little extra cream (a bit more than called for in the recipe) and turned all the ingredients into a lemon mousse parfait.

serves 6

2 lemons
4 eggs separated
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon gelatin
1 cup heavy cream plus more more for garnish

1.   Grate the rind of the lemons and reserve.  Squeeze the juice and reserve.
2.   Combine the egg yolks with the rind and sugar and beat vigorously until the mixture is light and lemon colored.
3.   Combine the lemon juice and gelatin and let stand ten minutes.  Heat the mixture over low heat or hot water until the gelatin dissolves, then stir it into the egg yolk mixture.
4.   Whisk the cream until thick and fold it into the moussed mixture.  Whip the egg whites and fold them in.
5.  Pour the mixture into a 2 quart souffle dish and pour into the mousse mixture.  Chill at least two hours.
I made the parfaits by adding the blueberries to the bottom of  large white wine glasses, then a few scoops of lemon mousse, and topped with whipped cream and a few blueberries.

SUSANSIMONSAYS:  In the summertime, when fresh, local berries are available - starting with June strawberries up until August blackberries, with blueberries and raspberries in between - try swirling the fresh berries through the lemon mousse just before it sets. Beautiful, and divinely delicious!

Italy Dish by Dish, the reviews are out!

It's been very satisfying to read the reviews of  Italy Dish by Dish, the culinary guide which I translated from Italian to English.  The satisfaction comes from reviewers who understand the value of the work you've done, and how helpful that labor is  for readers.  Jenn Garbee's description of the book  in LA Weekly  is on point. And so is the entry about it in the widely read blog, 100 miles
Among newspapers all over the country that have talked about the book, The Milwaukee Sentinel seems to get it best, except for a snippy comment about the color of the type. Oh well.
Of course, who's not happy with a mention in the Wednesday food section of  The New York Times.
There are many, many other nice mentions, including ones in the stalwart publishing trade publications, Publishers Weekly , and  Library Journal.
SUSANSIMONSAYS:  Buon Viaggio e Buon Appetito - even from your armchair!

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.