Anchovies

Yesterday we found the most wonderful little shop in Santa Monica that specializes in Italian imports.  I purchased my first can of salted anchovies.  As I opened the can, I smelled the smell of the ocean.  I could picture seagulls flying overhead.  At first glance, these anchovies are much bigger than what I'm used to in the 2oz tins.  They are also less salty if they are left to soak in water for thirty minutes prior to using.  I have read that the anchovy taste is quite strong, but I don't think there is a huge difference.  A discernible difference, but not a huge difference.

anchovies from sicily

Pasta all'uovo fatta in casa

Today I decided to endeavor in making handmade pasta with a rolling pin.  I recently purchased the first edition of "The Classic Italian Cookbook" by Marcella Hazan.  Inside, there's an excellent description of how one should make handmade pasta.  On top of that, there's also a paragraph disparaging the use of a pasta machine - a first!

"[Machine made pasta] is truly effortless, but, unfortunately, machine pasta is not really as fine as the handmade kind.  Something happens to its composition as it goes through the steel rollers that gives the dough an ever so slightly slippery texture...these considerations aside, however, machine pasta can be quite good; it is certainly superior to the commercial variety, and it is far better than having no homemade pasta at all."

I decided to try out the technique described in my new cookbook.  It uses a rolling pin to continuously stretch, and knead the pasta dough until it's thin enough to handle.  Furthermore, the pasta is rolled onto itself onto the rolling pin, thus flattening it even more.  The wooden dowel gives the pasta texture.

While reading through chowhound and egullet, I found many remarks of how long it takes to make hand rolled pasta.  However, I found that the process was quite simple - at least compared to how I used to make pasta.  In the past, I used to roll out the pasta into as thin a sheet as I could (which ultimately was too thick), I'd cut each strand out, dry each strand on any hanging surface I could find, and then stretch out each strand to a desired thickness.  Proper hand-rolling is nothing compared to my belaboured multi-hour process.

Before unfurling

Post unfurling

Unfurling

Chicken Broth

I remember when I first started cooking, the simple act of making chicken broth terrified me.  I would stand by the pot, waiting for it to boil and foam, armed with ladle, and ready to skim.  I would constantly go back to the pot, tasty the oily broth and noting the change in taste as the broth simmered through the afternoon.  I made a pot of chicken broth this afternoon, and it seemed like second nature.  It has been years since I first learned how to make a pot of chicken broth, and the terror has lessened.  The only thing I regret was not tasting it as many times as I once did.  At this moment I am wondering if it was over salted.  I hear the clang of a pot hitting the porcelain sink.  My husband is washing my soup pot for me. :)

Lamb Shanks pt 2

The braised lamb shanks recipe has been so far so good.  When browning the shanks, they have yielded surprisingly very little oil.  I'm hoping that will change after the braise.  Here are some pictures of the process so far.

Browned shanks yielding very little fat

Softening vegetables

With the wine, and chicken broth, ready to simmer for hours to come

Lamb Shanks

My husband is out of town for the weekend and that usually means I endeavor in cooking something big and elaborate just so I can say I succeeded at doing it.  Today, I made a stop at Whole Foods at an unusual 9:30PM on a Friday night hoping to avoid the Saturday morning crowds.  To my dismay, the parking lot was full, and as I entered through the sliding doors, a woman in yoga pants brusquely walked past.  I noted to myself that I should try to work on my posture.  At the counter, the lamb is sectioned off like it was in pasture, and I noticed that the shanks were a pricey $6.99/lb.  $6.99?  For the toughest cut of meat below the knees of this very agile creature?  And I need four for my braise?  Really?

Never mind.  Just before reaching the cash, I was seduced by the Ylang Ylang shampoo with extra essential oils, and bought a bottle for $6.99.  $6.99?  Is everything at least $6.99 at Whole Foods?

Tomorrow I'm going to try a traditional braise from Alice Waters' cookbook. I've already salted and peppered and slid that whole mess into the fridge.   I've come a long way since I bought that Wusthof spatula.

Food & Cooking

After working through Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food, I'm ready for more complicated recipes.  I recall when I had worked through a lot of "How to Cook Everything", and found items difficult.  Now they are simple and easy to do, and I often refer to my Mark Bittman cookbook in a bind.  Today I made a classic Swiss Chard Frittata, and I am proud to say that my $40 investment in the Wusthof spatula has paid off in spades.  I flipped the frittata without having to transfer anything onto a dish.  To top it off, partly because of the nonstick nature of my seasoned pan, and partly because of the thin edge of my spatula, I was able to cut the frittata in half and flip each half without so much as breaking the frittata.  I was impressed.

French Country Cooking

I finally got my Elizabeth David cookbook, and it's an interesting read.  I had hoped that it was a bit more story like, but it is firmly a cookbook.  I harkened back to Elizabeth Romer's

The Tuscan Year: Life and Food in an Italian Valley

 and I prefer the qualitative story telling that goes into Romer's book.  I'm looking forward to my "Italian Food" book from Elizabeth David to compare.

One funny thing about my new cookbook is that it is a used book from the 1985 that I think, was an overprint of some kind.  The dust jacket is totally off.  However, with that being said, the book certainly has a lot of character, and I'm not one to complain.  Exciting!

Blinis and Salmon Caviar

Although Blinis take a bit more effort (and preparation) than pancakes, I find them far superior to pancakes. Blinis require the preparation of a "sponge" out of yeast, and yes, for better results, it's best to make the sponge the day before so you can develop delicious yeasty flavours. This morning we had the blinis with Salmon Caviar that Beth had gotten for us a month ago, and we had frozen.

Salmon Caviar freezes beautifully.

Kerrygold Butter is wonderfully spreadable at room temperature.


Buckwheat Flour is gluten free, and has an interesting texture. I used to be very loathe to adding "whole grain" flours to any of my baked goods simply because Whole Wheat flour lent a coarseness, and texture that I did not care for. Buckwheat Flour is a beautiful black/grey colour, and because it is gluten free, it gives an airiness to my baked goods. I am done with Whole Wheat Flour. Hello Buckwheat! I am also going to try Rye flour as well since I've read quite a bit about it.

Next up - corn. Anyone?

Also, I am looking for cooking classes in Guangzhou. Why is it so difficult?

What is that????

Wow - I hadn't looked in my vinegar urn in ages.. and there was a HUGE piece of mother floating at the top!  Any takers?

MY MY MY!

Nora came over today to look at my worm bin and she brought over some vegetables and fruits, which made me very very happy!  Because she brought just the ingredients to make a pea and asparagus ragout!  And everything was right out of her garden too!  How exciting!!!

Bialetti

Today we went to the Torrance market and had a terrible time.  There were too many people, and a general sense of chaos.  Also the coffee was bad.  Shahril is into coffee.  I can appreciate it, but I can't drink it because it makes me nauseous.  

My sister recently purchased a Bialetti Moka Express for Shahril for Christmas, and it is wonderful.  I have to admit that I love manual things, but when I first started using the Bialetti, it wasn't the easiest to operate.  The instruction manual is hard to understand, and there are so many little things to be aware of before you start making coffee.  i.e. make a test pot first, then throwi it away... make sure the water only goes up to the line in the bottom (only the line is very well marked).. do not screw on the top using the handle (it'll break)... do not tamp the coffee grinds... use low heat only... etc. etc.

Milk

After talking to my sister and Shahril about soy milk and estrogen and all that, I've decided to diversify my eating portfolio, and have been contemplating drinking milk again.  I've been undecided about drinking milk partially because I get terrible indigestion when I have a whole glass of milk.  Luckily though, the organic pastures raw milk seller has made it to the Torrance market, and they now sell raw skim milk for an unbelievable bargain basement price of $3 for half a gallon.  I just had a glass and I'm digging it.

Creme fraiche strawberry tarts

I'm making tarts from three pints of strawberries I had purchased two Fridays ago at the Hermosa Beach farmers market. The strawberries, while extremely sweet that Friday, somehow were not so sweet when we got home. Instead of trying to eat them as is, I decided to make tarts. I asked Amanda, my professional baker friend, for recipes. One recipe was a variation on her creme fraiche custard apple tart. Amanda had given a very basic recipe that included only the ingredients for the filling: creme fraiche, whole cream, vanilla bean, eggs and egg yolks. She even left out the sugar! Nervous!

Instead of calling her up, I decided to figure out the crust for myself. I first made a pate brisee crust but then realized that it would be too flaky for a tart - especially one that was as wobbly as a custard tart. So I wrapped the dough up in plastic wrap and tossed it in the freezer.

If my memory served me correctly, Amanda's tart crust was cookie like and not flaky. Possibly pate sucree. Pate sucree has higher fat content, and it has more of a cookie texture so it holds up easier. The only thing is that it's harder to work with because when it's not cold it sticks to everything.


The first time I made the tarts, they shrunk considerably after baking them blind.. who knew you were supposed to have the pastry slightly higher? I also found out that pre freezing the tart shells also helps with shrinkage. I'm testing this right now with both increased shell height and pre-freezing!



The custard had turned out wonderfully from the first baking but the pre shrinking really put me off. Here's hoping that things will turn out better this time!

* I baked the tart shells blind at 375F
* The custard portion was later added when the tart shells cooled.
* The custard was baked at 350F, for approx 15 mins until the custard was set.
* The strawberries were roasted first in the toaster oven to drive off the juice to not create wet spots in the custard (thanks to Amanda for the tip).
* I spooned the strawberries into the blind baked tart shells and then added the custard.
* All ingredients were all room temperature before spooning into tart shells.
* I poked the frozen tart shells with a fork
* The pate sucree recipe used was some wolfgang puck recipe I found online. Would be interested in trying something else that used the whole egg.