My Mélange

Zucchini and Tomato Orzo

Occasionally, I let the pantry and the fridge run very low.  Too low.

I often put together a creative, delicious dish under extreme circumstances, as was the case this week.

And, it forces me to use up food that would otherwise go bad.

This week,  I stared at a zucchini, almost past its prime. The pantry had a can of San Marzano tomatoes and some orzo.

And since I never let my garlic and onion stores run totally dry, I felt as if I could whip something up.

That is how Zucchini and Tomato Orzo was born.

I sliced both the onion and zucchini in thin half moons.  I drizzled some olive oil in the saute pan and heated it on medium.  I threw in both the onion and zucchini. 

I diced a clove of garlic and threw that in as well.  When all were soft, I squished the tomatoes in my hands and added them and all of their liquid from the can. 

I rummaged through my dried spices and added some oregano and basil as well as a shake of salt and plenty of black pepper. 

I boiled off some orzo until al dente and added it to the zucchini and tomato mixture.

I finished it off with some fresh flat leaf parsley from my herb garden and some grated Parmesan.

It was surprisingly delicious and healthy.  A true Italian victory!

Buon Appetito!

Soup Recipe Testing

We are back from our trip to Montréal and Québec City.

We had a fabulous time and only one International incident (read minor injury) as Chris likes to refer to it.  Over the next few weeks, I'll be sharing photos, stories, recommendations and my thoughts on Canada and its Frenchiness Factor.

As with taking a vacation, I return to piles of work, clogged email,  and lots of catching up to do with my favorite blogs and very little time.

One of the things on my long to do list is recipe testing.

You may remember the La Cucina Italiana soup recipe contest.  Well, I am now taste testing not one, but two new soups.

I am sworn to secrecy and I believe the winner will be announced at the end of the month.

Until then, I will share the two recipes I am busy testing and eating now.

Yeah, its a tough job, but someones gotta do it!!

Roasted Beets & Pumpkin Soup

Hands-on time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes (add 30-90 minutes to roast the beets which can be roasted 1-2 days before)

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp unsalted butter
3 leeks, white parts only, cleaned, halved lengthwise and sliced across
20oz/600g roasted beets (see below for roasting instructions)
1” fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 cup cooked pumpkin or squash puree
8 cups chicken or vegetable broth (you might want more if you like a thinner soup)
2 sprigs fresh thyme
Salt & pepper to taste
Juice of 1 lemon

Directions:
To roast beets: preheat oven to 400°F/200°C
1. Scrub beets and toss with a little olive oil, salt & pepper

2. Roast until soft (depending on the size of the beets, anywhere from 30-90 minutes)

3. Once beets are cooked, allow them to cool enough to handle and peel

Soup:
1. In a Dutch oven over medium-low heat, melt the butter in olive oil and then add the leeks, sauté until they are soft and translucent. Don’t let them burn.

2. Once the leeks are soft, add the beets, pumpkin & thyme and sauté for another 3-4 minutes. Add the broth and lemon juice and heat through.

3. Puree the beets in the broth and return to stove. Simmer until ready to serve.

--------------------


Creamed Zuppa Di Fagioli with Herbed Olive Oil Drizzle

 ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon each chopped fresh marjoram, parsley and cilantro
1 1/2 cups dry cannelloni beans (soak overnight)
4 oz. salt-cured pancetta, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 Tbsp minced garlic
2 whole garlic clove, cut in half (and set aside)
4 cups homemade chicken stock
2 cups water
5 fresh sage leaves, chopped
2 Tb fresh parsley, chopped
8 ripe plum tomatoes, chopped 
Salt and freshly ground pepper

6 slices of coarse peasant bread, cut in 3/4-inch slices 

For garnish:  Freshly shaved parmesan cheese and prepared infused olive oil drizzle

1.     Soak beans in water overnight in a large bowl; water should be at least 3 inches above beans. Drain in the morning.

2.     Place ¾ cup oil in a crock pot with herbs and heat on high heat 1 to ½ hours while the soup is cooking.  (This can be done on the stove top, too, very low, but, it’s easy to over heat the oil, so the crock pot is safer).  When infused, Strain oil of herbs.  Store infused oil in a jar.  (Oil can be stored in refrigerator 2 weeks).

3.     Heat a bit of regular olive oil in a large stock pot and sauté pancetta and celery on medium heat, about 5 minutes until softened.  Add chopped garlic, cooking a couple more minutes until softened.

4.     Add beans, chicken stock, water, sage, parsley and tomatoes. Bring pot to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until beans are tender, about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours.

5.     In batches, put soup in a blender and blend until smooth.  Return blended soup to the pot and gently heat throughout. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

6.     Toast peasant bread rubbed with halved garlic cloves under a broiler until golden. Place toasts in the bottom of 6 serving bowls; brush toasts with a thin layer of scented oil.

7.     Ladle the soup over the bread.  Shave a generous portion of fresh parmesan cheese on each bowl and drizzle with a swirl of infused oil, about 1 TBSP per bowl.

Serve with traditional Italian bread, green salad and your favorite wine pairing.

***

I hope you will tune in, as I will announce who La Cucina chooses as the winner.  Until then, I would love to hear your thoughts on these recipes.

Tuscan White Bean Soup

Fall has arrived, with its chilly temps, crisp air and warm earth-toned foliage. With Fall comes the long-awaited arrival of hearty fare, like soups and stews.

This past weekend I had a craving for soup.  I scanned the pantry and fridge to see what I could whip up. As luck would have it, I had the makings for a Tuscan White Bean Soup. 

Keep in mind, I don't like exact recipes, I am cheating here by using canned beans and I have improvised by adding a few little touches of my own.  

It may not be the traditional, authentic Tuscan recipe, but it's close and it was tasty just the same.  

Tuscan White Bean Soup

good olive oil

a couple of carrots,chopped

a few stalks of celery, chopped

a small white onion, chopped

clove of garlic, minced

three tomatoes, chopped

can of white beans, rinsed and drained

several red swiss chard leaves roughly chopped

bay leaf

heel of parmigiano cheese

fresh thyme leaves

1 vegetable bullion cube dissolved in 4 cups boiling water 

salt and pepper

***

In a large dutch oven, heat a generous amount of olive oil over medium heat.  Saute onions until translucent.  Add carrots and celery, cook until softened.  Add garlic, cook for another few minutes. Add tomatoes, beans, thyme, salt and pepper.  Pour the 4 cups of bullion infused water to the pot, add the bay leaf and heel of parmigiano to the pot, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes.  Add chard, cover and let simmer for 5 minutes or so, just until the chard is wilted.

Ladle into bowls and serve with chunks of country bread.

Buon Appetito! 

**  Cooks note:  If you add chunks of  country bread to the soup, let it rest overnight and reheat the next day, you will have yourself a Ribollita- which is another Tuscan classic.

What are some of your classic fall favorite soups?

"O"recchiette Gina

On Monday, I posted about the Ovarian Cancer Awareness Contest, and I promised to share a recipe beginning or ending with "O", in honor of the event!

You may also remember a few weeks ago that I wrote about my birthday dinner with my ladies club. One of the dishes my friend enjoyed was a dish with orecchiette (meaning little ear in Italian), fennel sausage, sun-dried tomatoes and broccoli rabe.

I decided to experiment and try my hand at replicating that dish. In honor of Gina DiPalma, I have decided to call it:

Orecchiette Gina

(serves 2)

1/2 pound dried orecchiette pasta

good olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

6-8 sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped

1/2 bunch of broccoli rabe- use top third of each stalk

1/2 pound fennel sausage, removed from casing, pulled apart into large chunks

 

____________

Place chopped sun-dried tomatoes in a small bowl of hot water, for about 5 minutes, to plump them. Drain, set aside.  Place broccoli rabe in a pot of boiling water for about 5 minutes to remove bitterness, drain and set aside. Put another pot of salted water on the boil.  Add the orecchiette and boil until al dente, maybe 8-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large saute pan, place chunks of sausage in pan, season with salt and pepper and brown over med-high heat.  Remove when nicely browned.  Turn heat down and add garlic to pan.  Saute a few minutes.  Add sun-dried tomatoes saute a few minutes more.  Add broccoli rabe.  Check for seasoning.  

When pasta is cooked, strain one scoop at a time right into the saute pan.  Add sausage back into pan. Stir to combine flavors.  Add some pasta water if the dish looks too dry, and serve.

Buon Appetito!!

And don't forget to donate to this very important cause!

Pesto Tortellini

We found some dried tortellini stuffed with pesto at Trader Joe's.  I like to keep them around so in a pinch, when the cupboards are bare, we can at least have something for dinner.

I knew they would be easy to make, but didn't know they would be quite as delicious as they turned out to be.

Sometimes poor quality dried stuffed pastas tend to get mushy, fall apart and leak the stuffing into the boiling water.

But, not this time.  Not these little babies.  These remained firm and whole.

As long as it takes to boil them, add another 30 seconds for prep and then serve!

Couldn't be easier!

After boiling, draining and plating we drizzled some of our new basil oil over the top, shredded some pecorino romano cheese over them, twisted the pepper mill a few times, and sprinkled on some freshly chopped parsley and basil..and voila!

Dinner is served!  How quick and easy was that?

How do you like your tortellini?

 

And remember...there are only 2 days left to submit your Italian Soup recipe for the La Cucina Italiana contest!!!

La Cucina Italiana : Cooking Contest!

  I am here to announce some very exciting news!!! 

  Alex, over on Blog from Italy is cooking up a recipe contest with some prizes in     the form of subscriptions to the La Cucina Italiana cookery magazine.

  And guess what?

  I'm going to be one of the taste testing team!  

  Yep, that's right, little ole me.  And of course, a few others.

  The contest is to create the most delicious, original, organic Italian Soup.

Think you got one up your sleeve?

Then head on over to Blog from Italy for all the details, the rules and the prizes!!  But act quickly because entires will only be taken from September 12th through the 19th, which is just a week away!!

I am so looking forward to being involved and I can't wait to taste test some of the final contenders!

I wish you all Good Luck!!!

Aroma Osteria

When it's your birthday in the Hungry Heifer Club, you get to pick where you want to eat.  And you get treated.

So, this month it was my choice.

I chose Aroma Osteria.

This Italian favorite has been around for at least 10 years, and I haven't had the pleasure of eating here in at least five years.

It has a reputation for having excellent, authentic Italian food, but at top dollar prices.

The first prominent thing you notice about Aroma is the warm orange structure, renovated to resemble a Tuscan villa.  Perfectly perched atop a hill, it makes you feel you have arrived somewhere deep in the Chianti countryside.

It was a beautiful night, so we chose to dine on the Italian terrazza lined with black iron tables, Italian pottery hung on the adjoining restaurant wall, flowers spilling over in their raised containers and Bocelli wafting through the speakers. 

But, the most charming touch was the pergola overhead that had grapevines entwined from front to back and from which clusters of real grapes dangled gracefully.  The dappled sunlight made its way through the leaves and warmed us as we looked over the menu.

Only the foliage around me and the sound of English speaking customers reminded me that I wasn't in Tuscany.

First, we ordered a bottle of 2005 Valpolicella for $26 which was a very reasonable since four of us were sharing.  You do the math.

It was juicy, jammy and smooth.  A perfect choice.

Soon after arrived freshly baked bread and a dish of olives floating in a pool of golden oil.

The menu is typically Italian.  By that I mean each course is separate and therefore priced separately.

Our Italian accented server told us there was a Fried Zucchini Blossom special and with a few arm twists and explanations on my part, we decided to share an order.

The plate arrived and I was a bit disappointed.  

Now, I try not to be one of those I-could-make-that-better-at-home people, but in this case it was totally unavoidable.

I prefer a very light crispy coating, sans egg in the batter, on my blossoms.  And I prefer them stuffed with a little something.  If you are going to go through all the trouble to fry them, you might as well make them flavorful, with a little surprise in the middle to make your mouth sing.

Well, these blossoms arrived to the table resembling dumplings, with a coating thick enough and tough enough to need a knife to cut them.  And they were tasteless.  Not enough seasoning.

I eyed my friend that had never sampled a Zucchini Blossom.  Chewing, she looked at me like I was crazy.  I could see the wheels spinning in her head as she tried to figure out why I would rave about a heavy over-coated, tasteless garden by-product that would inevitably sink to the bottom of her stomach faster than you could say egg batter.

And then it happened. 

 

I told her I make them better at home.  

It was now time for our pasta.

K. chose a farfalle with porcini cream sauce and prosciutto

A. had the three cheese ravioli

B. ordered the orecchiette with fennel sausage, sun dried tomatoes and broccoli rabe

 And for me, penne with shrimp, scallops and plum tomatoes.

We shared, we passed around and we devoured.  The farfalle, ravioli and orecchiette were all delicious. Mine was cooked perfectly, the seafood fresh, but it tasted a little too bland for me.  B.'s orecchiette was my fav, with the farfalle in cream being a very close second.

We left room for dessert and being the food fanatic that I am, I had already picked out my selection before the menu arrived.  Previously, I had checked the on-line menu, which stated that desserts were a very reasonable $6.50, a fact I had touted to my girlfriends all night.

But, when the dessert menu arrived, the desserts were listed at $8.25.  For dessert.  $8.25.  Each. A piece. I am all for great, delicious dessert, but I can get lunch for less than $8.25.

Needless to say, I was a bit taken aback by the discrepancy.  I suggested we order only two desserts for the table and share, but my fellow diners wouldn't hear of it.  It would be desserts all around- and it better be good.

I ordered the Torta di Ricotta with orange zest, served on a pool of orange creme anglais and candied orange peel that was literally, heaven on a plate.  Light as air and only slightly sweetened by the hint of orange. I am talking sinfully good, here.

 I was satisfied.

My companions however, had a different experience.  They each ordered an Italian style peach cobbler with Amaretti cookie crumble and vanilla gelato.  

It received mixed reviews, but nobody raved about it. The peaches were just this side of ripe and there was something bitter tasting about the dish.  We couldn't put our finger on it, but it just was a little off.  Not one of them cleaned their plate, though I licked mine clean.

Now, the stinger.  

When the bill came, we saw that the special Zucchini Blossoms, were $11.  Yep, $11. The total bill was $140, before tip, which may not seem like alot for four people.  But considering we only had a glass of wine, shared heavy tasteless blossoms, a small plate of pasta and an overpriced dessert, it seemed like too much.  By the time you add the tip, it worked out to about $42 each.

I think you know me well enough by now to know that I certainly don't mind paying a king's ransom for a delicious, quality meal.  To me, it is about value for what you get.  And I don't mean quantity.

 

When I spend a lot of money, I just expect the food to be different, creative, flavorful, something extra-special.  I want to make noises at the table, when I spend a pretty penny.

Don't get me wrong, the food here was good, I'll even say very good.  But the only thing extra-special, was the terrazzo, where we dined.  For the money we spent here, compared to what we ate, and with places like  Mercato and Il Continori to choose from, I don't think the dangling grapes were worth the hefty price-tag.  

 

Aroma Osteria

114 Old Post Road

Wappingers Falls, NY  12590 

845.298.6790

 

Tour del Gelato: GROM

  By now you should know how I feel about gelato.

  If you don't, well, it is love.  No, it is beyond love.  It borders on obsession.

  But, if you are going to be obsessed about something, you might as well make it gelato.

Ms. Adventures in Italy, who hosts the Tour del Gelato, encourages people to review their favorite gelaterias for all the world to see.

I figured I would join in on the fun!

You see, once you have been to Italy and experienced the real thing, it is really hard to settle for anything less.  

And even harder to find anything resembling authentic Italian gelato.

So, when I realized we'd be headed to New York City , I was over the moon about visiting Grom.

Grom is a real Italian gelato company, that opened it's doors in Turin, Italy in 2003. They quickly established a reputation for high-quality, all natural gelato. Classic Italian flavors made with fresh organic ingredients, in season, grown on their own farms in the best areas of Italy.   

Many more locations sprouted throughout Italy and in 2007, much to my excitement, a New York City store was added to the list.

New York City now has two.  My visit was to the location on Bleecker and Carmine in Greenwich Village.

Normally, there would be a line snaked around the building, but since we visited on a weekday, we lucked out.  No lines to speak of.

This sign greeted us upon entering.  It is a good thing there was no line. Making a selection with this many choices was going to be a time consuming chore.

Nocciola, Fragola, Pesca, Pistacchio and Melone.  Some of my classic favorites.

But then Caffé Espresso and Cioccolato Extranoir were staring me right in the face.

Decisions, decisions.

And lookie here...

I am a huge fan of the salt and caramel combination.  This just made the choice much harder.

And since this gelato is not exactly cheap, the choice is an all important one.

The glass counter that typically displays the gelato selections like a rainbow of colors is strangely absent from Grom, much to my chagrin.

Instead, more of a modern, streamlined counter is acheived with the use of shiny stainless steel lids hiding the flavors below.

Maybe this keeps the gelato fresher, colder or germ free.   Who knows?

We watched others delight in their selections, trying to guess which flavors they were ordering, sneaking peeks under the lids as they were raised, all the while staring intently at the menu, hemming and hawing, trying to choose.

We finally decided to split a large coppetta (cup) for $6.75.  In Italy, I remember that you could squeeze as many flavors into a large as you desired.  This weighed heavily into our decision to share a large, thinking we would taste an abundance of different flavors.

But, then the Grom server snaps me back to the reality that this is the U.S. and a large cup would only allow us three flavors.

Three measly flavors?  Can you believe it?

Somewhat disappointed, we ordered Yogurt, Fragola and the flavor of the month, Caramel.

We grabbed a seat on a bright blue banquette in the area lined with mouth-watering photos of the gelato ingredients and quickly made short work of our gelato. 

 

All of my disappointment quickly subsided as soon as the cold custard hit my lips and the flavors burst forth in my mouth. 

All three flavors were delicious.  It should come as no surprise though that my favorite would be the Caramel.  That is not to say that others weren't great.  The Fragola was very ripe and sweet and the Yogurt has just the right amount of tang.

You could really taste the quality of the ingredients.  

So even though the location, the lack of obvious gelato display, the exorbitant cost and the three flavor rule were a stark reminder that we were far from Italy; the creamy, pure, natural taste and texture of the gelato transported me in an instant to the country I so love.  

And I would have it no other way.

Grom- Bleecker

233 Bleeker at Carmine

Greenwich Village

New York City

212.206.1738

Grom- Broadway

2165 Broadway

Upper West Side

New York City

212.362.1837

Gnocchi with Brown Butter and Sage

Longer ago than I care to remember I had an Italian boyfriend and his Grandmother used to make gnocchi all the time.  I loved watching her make them.  She'd whip up a batch faster than I could boil the pot of water.

From that point forward, I was hooked.  Not only on the perfect potato pillows but on the word itself.  I just love saying it.  Gnocchi, gnocchi, gnocchi!!

Last year, I decided to try making gnocchi myself.  Being a novice, it took me a lot longer than an experienced Italian, but the result was delicious.  We had enough to freeze for weeks to come.

I don't always have the time to tackle homemade gnocchi, but lucky for me, I have a few Italian deli's in my area and can pick up some already made at a moments notice.  I just add a quick sauce for an easy, delicious dinner, which is just what we did last night.

Perfect when your short on time, this should only take you about 10 minutes from start to finish!

As with so many quick dishes with few ingredients, I have no measurements here.  Just experiment and season to your taste.

Gnocchi with Brown Butter and Sage

gnocchi

butter

small handful of sage leaves, about 10, minced

walnuts, roughly chopped

nutmeg

salt

pepper

Parmesan Cheese

Boil and salt a large pot of water.  Drop the gnocchi in the boiling water.  When the gnocchi rises to the top, wait about another minute or two and fish them out in batches.  

Meanwhile for the sauce:

Melt a large slab of butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  Let butter melt completely without stirring.  

When the melted butter starts to caramelize on the sides, throw in the sage leaves and walnuts and swirl the pan to combine.  

Cook for only 30 seconds more.  Add salt, pepper and freshly grated nutmeg to taste.

Place gnocchi on a plate.  Spoon brown butter sauce over the top.  Top with grated Parmesan cheese.

Buon Appetito!

On Italian Soda

I can't remember the last time I had a Pepsi.  Or a Coke. I am strictly a water, wine and coffee drinker. 

I don't even like soda that much.  Soda in the States is full of, pardon my French, crap.  As the story goes, our soda will clean the corrosion off a battery.  Imagine what it does for your stomach lining?

And I like my stomach lining, thank you very much!  So, I stay far away.

But last week I was perusing the aisle of my local TJ Maxx and found these.

  

image courtesy of oldworldfoods.com

Agrumi Italian Sodas.  Where had they been hiding?

Italian soda is made from all natural flavors and/or syrups and blended with seltzer.  They are very effervescent and refreshing!  Especially in the summer heat.

Agrumi is an Italian word that refers to all things citrus.  

So, it would only be fitting that Agrumi is soda that comes in citrus flavors, like lemon, lime, grapefruit and tangerine.

Of course I had to scoff some up and drink them right away.  They are fresh and delish.  The lemon was just tangy and tart with just enough bubbles and the tangerine was sweet, but not overly so.

You can buy Agrumi here, here here and here.  

Coincidentally, yesterday I stumbled across another brand name at Trader Joe's.  Villa Italia comes in blood orange or grapefruit and costs only $2.99 a bottle!  These are made with carbonated mineral water from Italy.

traderjoesfan.com

And last but not least, Cost Plus has their own line of Italian Soda.  Imported right from Italy in the classic citrus flavors, lemon and blood orange and a special flavor..pomegranate!  At only $1.99 a bottle these are a steal.  Sign me up!

courtesy of Cost Plus World Market

So, I can no longer say that I am not a soda drinker.  I am however, an Italian Soda drinker.  And with natural flavors and antioxidants in the pomegranate variety, I can also say they are a healthy alternative to the ubiquitous caramel color, preservative laden Diet Crap, oops, ahem, I mean, Diet Coke that Americans love to guzzle.

Which flavor is your favorite?