Tortellini

Inspired by Chinese New Year this week, I read a description of my Chinese Zodiac sign, the horse. The description claimed that those born under the sign of the horse are "good with their hands." My first reaction was one of disbelief, as I don't see myself as one who is terribly crafty or visually artistic, and am not usually enamored with creations born of my own hands. But then I got to thinking, well I *did* make these pretty little tortellini recently!

I was feeling slightly more inspired than usual on that day, and following the instructions in Giuliano Bugialli's book On Pasta, I think I succeeded in making some pretty photo-worthy little packages!

I do confess that these were actually not so hard once I got the hang of it. These little beauties can be filled with any pasta filling you desire. In my case I used a ricotta and freshly chopped herb filling.

Here's how you do it:

First you will need to make sure you have a round cutter for the task so that you can make your pasta into perfect, uniformly sized circles. I use these, very useful for all kinds of kitchen prep, even things so mundanely clever as making donut-shaped peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the kids ;)

For this recipe I chose a cutter 7 centimeters in diameter (that's about 2.75 inches).

Prepare your filling, then mix up a batch of pasta dough. I use 3 eggs per 2 cups of all-purpose flour for 1 lb of pasta. Roll the pasta out to the thinnest setting using your pasta machine.

Cut out as many 7 cm. circles as you can, then place a small dollop of filling in the center of each circle. Moisten the edges using beaten egg whites, then fold the circle *almost* in half, allowing just a small border on one side that sticks out a little past the rest. Then, wrap this half-circle around your finger and press the corners together with your thumb until they stick. Remove the little tortellino, give him a flip so that the top edge curls outward, and presto!

Good luck! It takes just a little practice, but once you get the hang of it you'll see, it's not so hard and really kind of fun!

Madeleines

Ever since my family and I went and ate at the restaurant, Daniel, in NYC we have all fallen in love with Madeleines. I’m in college and my French roommate and I decided that we had to make them to celebrate her twentieth birthday. We decided to use a recipe her and her sister used when they made them as kids.

Sorry for the approximations of a few of the ingredients they had to be converted from the original French recipe.

.5 Cup and Little Bit, Melted Butter

3 Eggs

2/3 Cup Sugar

1 Heaping Cup Flour

2 Tsp Baking Powder

1 Lemon

Optional:

1 Tbsp Honey

1 Lemon

2 Cups Nutella or Jelly

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. In a pot cook butter until fully melted. Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl whisk together the eggs, sugar, and honey (if using honey) until frothy and creamy. We did not add the honey because of the fact that we were cooking this in a dorm room. Zest the lemon and set aside (if using lemon).

Add half of the flour and baking powder to the egg sugar mixture until smooth. Then slowly add the butter, the remaining flour, and the lemon zest (if using lemon).

Be sure to put the Nutella or Jelly
inside of them and if you can't then cover
it up with some extra batter.

Take the Madeleine pan (Amazingly we have one in our dorm room, but if you don’t have one… try using a cup cake tin, just don’t fill the tin up all the way. I’ve never tried this, but it’s worth a shot) and grease it to make sure that the Madeleine’s don’t stick. We buttered the pan and then sprinkled it with flour. Once the pan is greased fill with some of the dough. They will rise a little bit so don’t overfill them. If you are going to use Nutella/Jelly use a pipette or fill a small plastic bag with some of the Nutella/Jelly and squeeze it into the center of each Madeleine.

Put them in the preheated oven for eight minutes until they are slightly browned on the edges but still golden in the center. Let them cool and eat them warm or cold… they are amazing either way.

Christmas Lima Beans and Quinoa with Beets and Avocado

Heirloom beans are so flavorful and delicious! This recipe is from the Rancho Gordo Heirloom Beans cookbook.

5 small beets
Extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup quinoa
3 cups well-drained cooked Christmas lima beans (crockpot, stovepot, etc.) warmed slightly
1/2 small sweet onion, thinly sliced
1 avocado

Dressing: 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice, 1 Tbsp cider vinegar, 1 tsp honey, 1/3 c extra-virgin olive oil, salt & freshly ground pepper. (Vegans: Leave out the honey)

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Scrub the beets and dry them. Put in a medium bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Wrap the beets in 2 separate aluminum foil packages, putting like-sized beets with like-sized beets. Roast until tender, about 45 minutes. When the beets are cool enough to handle, slip off the skins with your fingers. Cut the beets into 1/4 inch thick wedges. Put in a large salad bowl.

Rinse the quinoa under cold running water (the quinoa can be soaked for 4 hours prior to this to remove any inherent bitterness). Bring a medium sauce-pan of generously salted water to a boil. Add the quinoa, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the quinoa is fluffy but still slightly crunch, 15 to 20 min. Drain and rinse quickly under cool running water. Drain well and add to the beets.

Add the beans and onion to the salad bowl. Cut the avocado in half lengthwise and remove the pit, leaving each half in the skin. Cut each half lengthwise into 1/4 inch-thick-slices. Then cut the slices crosswise into thirds. Using a spoon, scoop the avocado from the skin and add to the bowl. Toss gently.

Make the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, vinegar, and honey. Drizzle in the olive oil in a thin, steady stream, whisking continuously until the dressing comes together. Season to taste with salt & pepper.

Pour the dressing over the salad, toss, adjust the seasonings, and serve at room temperature within 2 hours. Enjoy!

Italian Nostalgia

When my beautiful sister, Mary, and I were in Italy, we fell in love with a Siena specialty: thick, glutinous noodles called Pici. We also discovered semifreddo; a wonderful "half-frozen" mousse-like custard.

I recreated Cacio E Pepe (Cheese & Pepper) using a variation of the recipe from the linked website, but used the pici noodles that I brought back with me instead of spaghetti noodles.


To accompany, we enjoyed a salad of organic baby arugula, radicchio, Roma tomatoes, crisp celery, walnut halves, quality olive oil, and aged balsamic vinegar.


A decadent lemon and amaretti semifreddo topped with raspberry coulis was just the ticket for dessert. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...


All of the above dishes were quite easy to put together, but tasted extraordinary.

Buonissimo!

Vegetable Pot Pie

This recipe might intimidate some for 2 reasons: homemade stock and homemade pie crust. But, never fear! I actually taught myself a lesson tonight... I had always thought of making vegetable stock as a huge endeavor because I've always made it in a large quantity, chopping lots and lots of vegetables, ladling it all out in the end to freeze, etc. I actually meant to purchase stock for tonight's vegetable pot pie, and when I came home realized I had forgotten it. But I'm so glad! Because the result was so much tastier as a result, and I learned that making a small pot of basic vegetable stock is a piece of cake. So, first things first:

For the stock: fill a saucepan with water. Add a cut up onion and some thoroughly washed leek tops, plus a bay leaf and a little salt. That's it. Bring to a boil, then let it gently simmer while you tend to the other business... (by the way it smells *really* good!)

Now, for the pie crust... I happened to have mine on hand because I made quiche the other night and the leftover crust was the entire inspiration for this meal... but if you don't have yours on hand, here's how to make it:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1/4 cup cold water

1 tablespoon vinegar

Combine flour and salt. Cut in butter. Mix egg, water and vinegar. Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients. Gently mix, and form into 3-4 balls to chill.

The amount of crust you need for this recipe depends on how big you are making your pot pie, and the dimensions of your dish. I used about 2/3 for an 8" x 14" rectangular glass dish.

With your leftovers, I guess you'll just have to make a quiche. :)

Next step:

Chop up a variety of vegetables.

I used onion, celery, carrot, green beans, peas and red potatoes.

I didn't measure the quantities, but chopped about 1 onion, 2 carrots, 1 rib of celery, a big overflowing fistful of green beans and about 7 *small* red potatoes. The peas of course were not chopped, and I think they would have measured to about 3/4 cup.

Saute the vegetables in butter, starting with the onion, celery, and carrot and adding the others after a few minutes. Add some salt and pepper and some Herbes de Provence, and continue to saute for about 10 minutes.

Then add some flour, about 1/3 cup. Cook for a couple of minutes to eliminate raw flour flavor. Then ladle in about 3 cups of the stock. Simmer for a few minutes to thicken the sauce, then pour into to a 9" x 13" or similar sized baking dish.

Now roll out your pie crust.

And lay it over the top of your baking dish.

Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.

Serve hot, and enjoy!

Japanese-style Cabbage Salad

I made this salad for the first time last night to accompany a Japanese-style meal, and I liked it a lot. It will definitely be a regular guest at our table! Sorry, no photo. It was gobbled up too quickly ;)

Ingredients

1/2 large head cabbage, cored and shredded

• 1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced

• • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root
• 3 tablespoons sesame oil
• 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 3/4 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

Mix ingredients together, let sit at room temperature for a bit to let flavors mingle, and enjoy!

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Yellow Eye Heirloom Beans

Yellow Eye beans are a variety of the white bean family and are creamy, rich, and delicious. Their flavor is neutral and earthy, and their texture is crumbly, just right for a chowder.












Here are the ingredients that you need for Yellow Eye Chowder...














Mise en place.











The white "eye" of the bean is where it used to be attached to the pod.













Soak for a few hours before cooking for extra tender beans.








In a soup pot over med heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onion, celery, and garlic and saute until soft and fragrant (~10 minutes). Add the beans and their soaking water, plus additional cold water to cover the beans by 1 inch. Bring to a boil, cover partially, and simmer until beans are starting to soften but still fairly firm, ~1 hour.

Add sweet potatoes, chicken, sage, + S&P to taste. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the beans are tender but not falling apart, about 20 minutes.





Ladle the chowder into warmed bowls and garnish with fresh chopped parsley.










Mmmmmmm....
Delicious with a rustic Artisan bread.