This post is all about payback. In the ongoing Caramel War that is waged on a regular basis in my home, I have launched my latest offensive.

You see a few days ago, as many of you read on my blog, I made a version of stroopwafels using pizzelle and a caramel filling. But the Caramel, trickster that it is, scored a victory. It lulled me into a false sense of security. It made me think that it was cooking smoothly and that I would finally be able to claim Caramel Victory. Then, overconfident and foolish creature that I am, I looked away. And in those few seconds, the caramel attacked, vigorously changing colour.

When I turned my attention back to the pot, I saw the Caramel smiling in its dark, dark amber way. Another pot of overcooked Caramel.

I gathered myself together and fought bravely. I added the cream and butter and made the filling. I applied the caramel filling to the pizzelle and I served them, pleased to hear that people liked them.

But I knew I had lost the day. I knew that during the night, while I lay awake in bed, that leftover Caramel in the glass jar in my refrigerator was convinced that the war was over and finally won.

Sorry. But things don’t work that way in my kitchen.

I just couldn’t let it go. I had to mount one final attack. And I knew just the recipe to do it. I thought that I was ready to put Tish Boyle’s The Good Cookie back on The Overburdened Bookshelf. I enjoyed it as the Flavour of the Month for January. I tried some new recipes, all with great success. But within that book lay my secret weapon:  Caramel-Almond Tiger Cookies.

This was a second chance; the opportunity to strike back at my opponent. It was a dangerous ploy. I was low on supplies with very little cornstarch in the house and no almond extract whatsoever. The need for slivered almonds would have to be met with blanched, sliced almonds. It’s war. You make due.

As quickly and quietly as possible I made the butter dough, throwing in some pure vanilla powder for flavouring. I scraped the cornstarch container of every single speck of cornstarch praying that it would be enough and it was. I let the dough firm up in the refrigerator, on the first shelf, away from the prying eyes of the leftover Caramel.

Once my cookies were baked, I prepared myself for the final blow. I found the zone and went there. Almost machine-like, I placed the heavy saucepan on the stove and added the sugar and water. I stirred constantly until the sugar dissolved, not even moving to answer the telephone. Once the sugar was ready, I raised the heat and stopped stirring.

And then I watched.

And I watched.

And I watched.

I could feel the sweat beading on my brow. From the corner of my eye I could see the spatula hanging partially over the counter and partially over the sink, teetering precariously. But I didn’t move to touch it.

I watched that Caramel like I have never watched anything before and I saw it. I saw how quickly it changed. But this time I was ready, whisking it off the stove as it turned a golden amber colour.

It didn’t have a chance.

That’s right, Caramel. Who’s your Daddy now?

Caramel-Almond Tiger Cookies

Adapted from The Good Cookie by Tish Boyle.

For the almond cookies:

• 1/2 cup sliced blanched almonds or slivered almonds (I used sliced, blanched almonds)
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted, butter, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla powder (the original recipe called for 1/4 teaspoon almond extract)

For the cookie dough:

1. Process the almonds and 1/4 cup of the all-purpose flour in a food processor until fine, 30 to 45 seconds.
2. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and add the other 1-1/4 cups of flour, the cornstarch and the  salt.
3. With an electric mixer, beat the butter and the sugars together until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the pure vanilla powder or almond extract. Mix well.
4. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture. Mix until just combined.
5. Gather the dough on a work surface and pat into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours. It should be firm enough to handle.
6. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and place a rack in the centre of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
7. Roll out your dough, and using a 1-1/2 inch cutter (I used a fluted one), stamp out as many rounds as you can.
8. Once you have stamped out all the rounds, transfer them to the baking sheets.
9. Reroll the scraps and cut out as many more rounds as you can. Transfer those to the baking sheets.
10. Count the number of rounds. Using a 3/4-inch round cutter or a 3/4-inch plain pastry tip, cut out little circles from the middle of half the rounds. These will be the tops of your cookies.
11. Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, for 10 to 12 minutes or until they are just golden around the edges. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

For the caramel filling:

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1. In a small, heavy saucepan, combine the sugar and water over medium heat. Stir constantly until the sugar dissolves, 3 to 4 minutes.
2. Once the sugar has dissolved, raise the heat to high and stop stirring. Keep a pastry brush and cup of water handy to brush down the sides of the pan occasionally to prevent the formation of sugar crystals.
3. WATCH THE CARAMEL CLOSELY!
4. After about 4 to 5 minutes, it should begin changing colour. Once it’s a golden amber (not too dark), remove it from the heat.
5. Add the cream carefully and then the butter and stir until smooth.
6. Let the caramel sit for 20 minutes to cool down.

To assemble the cookies:

1. Once the caramel is cool, spoon a teaspoon or so of caramel in the centre of a cookie round and top with another cookie round with a hole stamped in the middle.
2. Once all your cookies have been sandwiched together, place them on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum paper or waxed paper.
3. If your caramel filling is still loose, take a spoon or fork and drizzle the caramel over the cookies. If your caramel filling has hardened a bit, return it to the stove and heat it very gently until it becomes spreadable again. Drizzle the caramel over the cookies.
4. Let the cookies set overnight.
5. Enjoy!

Note:  This recipe yields between 40 and 44 sandwich cookies, depending on the size of your cookie cutter. This is the final recipe for Tish’s book this month. Stay tuned to see which book I choose as the Flavour of the Month for 2006!

Now that I’ve been a food blogger for almost two months, I felt it was time to venture forth and participate in a blogging event. After reading about the first Weekend Cookbook Challenge hosted by Sara of i like to cook and Alicat of Something So Clever, I knew that this was the perfect way to ease into the world of blogging events. And the subject was comfort food … my very favourite!

Cookbooks were consulted, websites were viewed and groceries were purchased. I knew exactly what I was going to make:  Coq au Vin. But then something happened.

I ate a bad doughnut. Not just a bad doughnut, a very bad doughnut!

Let me explain. I was on my way home from buying the groceries to make my Coq au Vin, when I decided to stop at the local doughnut establishment for a coffee and doughnut. The doughnut was so awful, I threw it out. It tasted about thirty days old and there were little black things in it that were apparently supposed to be raisins, but they certainly did not resemble anything that I would ever describe as being even remotely related to a raisin!

I was so disappointed.

What happened to the lovely doughnuts of my youth? You know the ones I’m talking about. The doughnuts that were light as a feather and never tasted of rancid oil. Doughnuts that were stuffed with REAL fillings like homemade jam and lemon curd. Doughnuts that were rolled gently in cinnamon sugar and didn’t all look the same.

What happened to the people that made these doughnuts? Those happy, smiling people who were patient and took their time in order to make the treats that they’d been making for years, that their ancestors had been making, often in lands very distant from the streets of Toronto.

Wherever these people are, they’re not in my Toronto anymore. Instead, my Toronto is being force fed stale, ugly doughnuts that all taste as though they were incubated in some laboratory somewhere where the food police make sure that every single doughnut is the same size, shape and colour. Blech!

Well I was having none of it! Once home, I marched over to The Overburdened Bookshelf and took down a book that I bought several years ago, but had never used (until now):  The Donut Book by Sally Levitt Steinberg.

Incredibly well-researched, Ms. Steinberg’s book recounts the history of the doughnut in America. And along with the history, her book offers a look at the folklore surrounding the venerable doughnut, as well as many recipes.

As I flipped through the book, I saw recipes for Cinnamon Sugar Donuts, Banana Donuts and Pennsylvania Dutch Donuts. Each one of these made me think of those incredible treats I enjoyed when I was younger. As comforting as Coq au Vin is, I decided I would make doughnuts for the Weekend Cookbook Challenge, if only to remind myself that there is still such a thing as a great doughnut!

After looking through The Donut Book several times, I decided to try my hand at a recipe for beignets. I based my recipe on one from the book called Hoppin’ John Martin Taylor’s Beignets. Now I have no idea who Hoppin’ John Martin Taylor is, but his recipe for beignets looked pretty good to me. But as I often do, I tweaked the recipe a bit to suit my own tastes.

While the ingredients for the recipe were straightforward, yeast, water, sugar, butter, heavy cream, egg and flour, I decided to spice things up a bit by adding pure vanilla powder and the merest hint of nutmeg. The recipe was easy to follow, except for one step. When adding the flour to the cream and yeast mixture, the recipe indicated that I should add two cups of flour, stir well, add a third cup of flour, stir well and then slowly add the final cup of flour, only adding as much flour as needed to form a cohesive dough.

I found that I could have easily stopped adding flour after the second cup. At that point I already had a cohesive dough, but concerned that I didn’t have enough flour in the dough, I went ahead and added the third. This resulted in way too much flour. I was forced to add some water to help bind the dough. While it turned out well in the end, I think my dough was probably a bit harder than it should have been. Undeterred, I continued with heating the oil and frying the beignets. In the end I was rewarded with a lovely heap of icing sugar-dusted treats …

Overall, I’m glad that I decided to make beignets for Weekend Cookbook Challenge #2. I got to try something that I’d never made before, and believe me, the results were more than comforting! It even erased the memory of that awful doughnut.

And just to prove that the Food Gods do exist, I decided to visit one of my favourite blogs, Hungry in Hogtown maintained by the very talented Rob, and wouldn’t you know he and his wife had made Coq au Vin for the Weekend Cookbook Challenge. I invite you to visit Rob’s blog and enjoy the food!

Life is good!

Ciao!

Beignets

Adapted from the recipe for "Hoppin’ John Martin Taylor’s Beignets" in The Donut Book by Sally Levitt Steinberg.

• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup warm water (about 110 degrees F if you’re using a thermometer)
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup heavy cream (whipping cream)
• 1 large egg
• 2 to 3 cups of all-purpose flour (the original recipe called for 4 cups but I highly doubt you’d need that much)
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla powder (or pure vanilla extract)
• 1/4 teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg (or try cinnamon!)
• peanut oil for frying (you will need a candy/oil thermometer to regulate the temperature of the oil)

1. Line a cookie tray with paper towels and place a wire rack on top of the towels. Set aside.
2. In a bowl, stir together the yeast and warm water. Let proof for about 10 minutes. The mixture should look creamy and slightly foamy after the 10 minutes have passed.
3. In a small pan, combine the cream, butter and sugar. Heat gently until the butter is melted. Let the mixture cool a bit, and then stir in the egg and mix well (don’t add the egg immediately after the butter is melted as the heat of the mixture might cook the egg). If you’re using vanilla extract instead of vanilla powder, add the extract to the egg and cream mixture.
4. Stir the yeast mixture into the egg and cream mixture. Mix well.
5. In a large bowl, stir together the 2 cups of flour, the vanilla powder (if you’re using it) and the nutmeg or cinnamon. Add the yeast/cream mixture and stir with a wooden spoon (this will require some elbow grease). As the mixture comes together, if you see you have a cohesive dough, then only add as much flour as you need to ensure that the dough is not sticky. While I added 3 cups of flour, I would have been fine with 2-1/2 cups.
6. Once the dough has come together into a ball and is not sticky, turn it onto a work surface.
7. Pour peanut oil into a large stockpot until it comes about 3 inches up the side of the pot.
8. Heat the oil over medium heat until it reaches 365 degrees F.
9. While the oil is heating, flour a rolling pin and roll your dough out into a square of roughly 16 inches (the dough should be about a 1/4-inch thick).
10. Divide the dough into 16 squares.
11. Once the oil is ready, drop 3 or 4 of the squares into the dough at one time. The squares will sink to the bottom but rise to the top very quickly. Once they rise to the top, flip them and let them fry for 2 or 3 more minutes. Be careful not to burn the beignets.
12. Remove the beignets and place on the wire rack. Continue frying until all the squares are done.
13. Once the beignets are all cooked, dust heavily with icing sugar.
14. Enjoy as they are best served warm!

I’m not sure why, but e-mail seems to have this strange hold over me. Every time I see that little envelope pop up in the bottom, right-hand corner of my screen, it’s all I can do not to squeal with delight! While I realize this qualifies me for the category of Extreme Nerd, I can’t help it. I am what I am.

Needless to say I was very excited when a certain e-mail, from Dave at KitchenSavvy, arrived in my in-box.

Allow me to explain. A few days ago, frustrated by my unsuccessful attempts to locate a certain ingredient, I decided to take a chance and e-mail Dave. I proceeded to ask Dave why I could not locate Greek yogurt anywhere in the fair city in which I live. Not only that, I also asked Dave if he could explain what exactly made Greek yogurt different from other types of yogurt.

Not only did Dave answer my question, he even suggested a way that I could make a very reliable substitute for Greek yogurt. You can read Dave’s very thorough and helpful reply here.

Dave, in Italian we say, "Mille grazie!" A thousand thanks!

Ciao!

In addition to my cookbook habit, I seem to have developed a kitchen gadget habit. You name it and I’m sure it’s sitting in a corner of my kitchen somewhere. But I justify my habit with the knowledge that I definitely put my gadgets to good use. Whether it’s the panini press or the waffle maker, I like my electronics.

My interest in gadgets notwithstanding, I am a strong supporter of preparing traditional foods with traditional tools. One of the traditional items that I have always wanted, is a pizzelle iron. Pizzelle are round, sweet wafers that are made from a batter that is cooked in an iron, similar to a waffle maker. The batter for pizzelle is usually made of eggs, sugar, butter and flour. Traditionally, Italians flavour pizzelle batter with anise, however, I have tasted many variations that include vanilla, lemon zest and even chocolate.

Prior to the introduction of electric pizzelle makers, people used pizzelle irons to make these cookies. A pizzelle iron was a type of double pan or skillet, usually made of cast iron, used over an open flame. For some reason, this cooking instrument has always intrigued me. Unfortunately, I have been unable to locate one. I’ve visited almost all of the old Italian neighbourhoods in Toronto and scoured the tiny shops that specialized in this type of equipment, but to no avail.

I quickly realized that if I ever wanted to get down to making pizzelle, I would have to buy a modern pizzelle iron. There are a number of companies that produce these irons, recognizing the popularity of pizzelle. They include Cuisinart and VillaWare. Most irons are stamped with a snowflake or floral motif. However, traditional pizzelle makers often had very intricate designs and some families even had irons with their own family crests stamped on them.

The pizzelle maker that I settled on is the Cuisinart model. Affordable and easy-to-use, the iron has a non-stick surface which performed excellently during my first pizzelle trial. While I did not use cooking spray on the iron surface (many of the cookbooks I consulted recommended using cooking spray, which I am adamantly opposed to), I did brush the surface with the tiniest bit of vegetable oil just to be extra sure that my pizzelle did not stick to the iron. I was not disappointed!

Now, for a recipe. The first time I used the pizzelle iron I followed the recipe that came with the unit. It was a typical pizzelle recipe calling for eggs and sugar to beaten together. That was followed by the addition of melted butter and then flour. I flavoured the pizzelle with vanilla (my personal favourite). Once the batter was ready, I began making the pizzelle and I found the process very simple. While it did take a few tries to get the exact amount of batter for each pizzella right, after a few I got the hang of it.

But for this particular post, I wanted to make something special. I remembered that in my copy of The Good Cookie (the Flavour of the Month for January 2006), I had seen a recipe for Stroopwafels. What are Stroopwafels you ask? Well Stroopwafels are a cookie of Dutch origin that are made of two waffle-like disks that are sandwiched together with a filling, usually caramel. As Tish Boyle explains in The Good Cookie, Stroopwafels were often served on top of a hot cup of coffee so that the heat of the coffee would warm the caramel filling. Don’t you just love the Dutch!

Tish’s recipe for Stroopwafels calls for making pizzelle for the cookie part. Her recipe is unique in that it uses cinnamon as flavouring for the pizzelle. Intrigued, I decided to give it a try. The pizzelle batter, other than the cinnamon, was very similar to the recipe that came with my pizzelle iron. It produced a thick batter that was easy to scoop onto the iron, but not too thick that the pizzelle came out cake-like. They were nicely crisp, without being brittle.

Once the pizzelle were done, I went on to the caramel filling. Unfortunately, caramel is something that I need to work on. I have a tendency to look away while the caramel is cooking and this has resulted in several experiences of dealing with burnt caramel. It’s not fun … believe me!

While I didn’t burn the caramel, it darkened a bit too much for my tastes. I prefer my caramel on the lighter side. While it tasted good, I wish I would have removed it from the heat just a few seconds sooner. Often those few seconds can make all the difference when making caramel. Nevertheless, I let the caramel filling cool and began making my Stroopwafels. The recipe indicated that the filling should be spooned onto one pizzella and then topped with another pizzella. But what’s the fun of making caramel if you can’t drizzle it on and watch it fall in luxurious blobs??? That’s what I did. I made a complete and total mess, but oh what fun!

Once complete, I brewed my favourite coffee, poured myself some using my very favourite coffee cup and placed a Stroopwafel on top. And then I sat back and watched the heat of the coffee and the caramel work their magic.

Ciao!

Stroopwafels

Adapted from The Good Cookie by Tish Boyle.

For the pizzelle:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (The original recipe calls for 1-3/4 cups of flour but I increased the amount of flour because I used extra large eggs instead of large eggs.)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (The original recipe calls for 1 teaspoon but I actually ran out. In future I don’t think I’ll use cinnamon again. While I love cinnamon, I prefer pizzelle with a strong vanilla flavour.)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 extra large eggs (The original recipe calls for 3 large eggs, however, I only had extra large eggs. If you use large eggs, reduce the amount of flour by a 1/4 cup.)
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) of melted, unsalted butter that has been cooled
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1. In a bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt).
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix the eggs for 1 minute. Add the sugar and mix for 2 to 3 minutes, or until they are light and a pale yellow colour.
3. Add the cooled, melted butter and the vanilla extract and mix for 1 minute.
4. Add the flour. Mix on low-speed until just combined. Don’t over mix the batter.
5. Heat the pizzelle iron according to the manufacturer’s instructions. (Brush the iron surface with some vegetable oil. Even If your iron is non-stick, follow this step to ensure that your pizzelle don’t stick to the iron.)
6. Spoon a rounded tablespoonful of batter into the centre of each pizzella mold. Close the lid and cook according to manufacturer’s instructions. (With my pizzelle iron, the first few batches of pizzelle took 45 seconds to 1 minute to cook. Once the iron got going, my pizzelle were done in about 30 seconds.)
7. Transfer the pizzelle to a wire rack to cool before making the Stroopwafels.

For the caramel filling:

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick), unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 3 tablespoons of heavy cream

1. In a heavy saucepan, combine the granulated sugar and water. Cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Make sure you stir constantly!!! This should take several minutes.
2. Once the sugar has dissolved, stop stirring and raise the heat to high. You may want to have a brush and cup of water handy to brush down the sides of the pan. This helps to prevent crystallization along the sides of the saucepan.
3. After a few minutes, you’ll begin to notice that the sugar mixture is slowly changing colour. It will start to turn a pale golden colour and then very soon, it will darken. Once the caramel turns a deep amber colour, remove the caramel from the heat and very carefully add the butter and cream. (If like me, you don’t like your caramel very dark, then remove the caramel from the heat before it’s a deep amber.) Stir until smooth.
4. Let the caramel sit for 10 minutes or so to cool down.
5. Once you’re ready to assemble the Stroopwafels, take one pizzella and scoop about 2 to 3 teaspoons of caramel filling onto the centre. Take another pizzella and place on top. Continue until you have used all the pizzelle. (You may have caramel filling left over which you can use to drizzle over ice cream … yum!)

Note:  You may have noticed that I sometimes refer to "pizzella" and "pizzelle" in my post. "Pizzella" is the singular form of the workd "pizzelle". Click here for more information on pizzelle.  You can use any filling you like when making "pizzelle" sandwiches. I also like to use lemon curd and of course, Nutella!

Dreska of Little Fancies asked me a great question after I put this post up. What’s the difference between a Stroopwafel and a Pizzella? As Jenny of de Arte Coquinaria pointed out, the texture of a Stroopwafel is very different from that of a Pizzella. Based on what I read, Stroopwafels seem to be thicker than Pizzelle. They are more like waffles, whereas Pizzelle are more like a crispy wafer. Some Stroopwafel recipes also include yeast, which you would never add to a Pizzelle batter. You can read about the history of Stroopwafels and see a sample recipe here.

There is no denying that one has to learn quickly in Blog World! In a matter of two weeks I have gone from looking extremely perplexed and thinking, "Huh?" when hearing the term "MEME", to winking ever-so-smugly and thinking, "MEME? No problemo!"

This time, Rosa of Rosa’s Yummy Yums has tagged me for the "Cooking Challenges of 2006" MEME. (If you haven’t visited Rosa’s blog yet, do so immediately!).

Dear Readers … I present the five challenges that I am issuing to myself for 2006:

1. Puff pastry. I have absolutely no problem admitting that my very first crush was puff pastry. Yes, that’s right, I fell in love with dough. You have a problem with that? I’ll never forget the day I fell in love either. It was a Sunday. And I watched, transfixed, as a pastry chef took an enormous block of butter and pounded it into a neat rectangle. Then he enveloped the rectangle in dough. And that beautiful package was turned into the most glorious sheet of silky, butter-flecked pastry … puff pastry. I remember thinking that if I could, I would wrap myself in it. I want to learn how to make puff pastry from scratch. Good puff pastry. And then I want to use that puff pastry to make the most glorious pastries. Challenge #1 … accepted!
2. Fresh pasta. My mother is a pasta master. Her fresh pasta is incredible … and she can make it with her eyes closed. When I was a little girl, she would always give me a little piece that I would play with, pretending to make long fettuccine strands or thin sheets of pasta for lasagna. While I have learned to make a great many things from my mother, I have stopped short at pasta. I will admit that it intimidates me. Well no more! Every master needs an apprentice, so this year I shall endeavour to learn from the pasta maestro:  my mom. Challenge #2 … accepted!
3. Bread. My father used to say that a meal could not begin until two items had been put on the table: wine and bread. Very few aromas excite me as much as freshly-baked bread. I want to smell freshly-baked bread more often. And the only way that will happen is if I start mixing water and yeast and flour. Challenge #3 … accepted!
4. Pavlova. 2006 is the year that I make pavlova. Bank on it! Challenge #4 … accepted!
5. Marcella Hazan. For several years now, I have read Hazan’s cookbooks like they were novels. Her book The Essentials of Italian Cooking, in particular, has comforted, inspired me and amused me. If a kitchen could speak, I imagine that it would speak with Hazan’s voice … strong, practical and wise. And yet after all these years, I have only ever tried two of her recipes. Two recipes! Well that is going to change. This will be the year that I delve into Hazan’s cookbooks and embrace them. Challenge #5 … accepted!

Now that I have challenged myself to overcome my cooking obstacles, it’s your turn. I am tagging the following 5 people:  Sara, Cindy, Easily Pleased, Lisa and Dreska.

Ciao!

It is one of life’s little truths that the simplest dishes are usually the most satisfying.  While I often dream about elaborate feasts consisting of all sorts of exotic dishes and breathtaking desserts, the recipes that I come back to again and again are the ones that were introduced to me as a child.

A paper-thin slice of veal flash-fried in a bit of olive oil with garlic and oregano. Creamy arborio rice served with a pat of butter and a handful of freshly-grated parmiggiano. Apple or peach slices dipped quickly in homemade wine and then gobbled up.

Simple yet completely satisfying, these are the dishes that guided me through childhood, and guide me still. I’m not sure what it is about these dishes that makes them so important to me. Maybe it’s that these dishes remind me of home. And maybe it’s that they are the dishes that I associate with the people that have had the greatest impact on my life: my parents and grandparents. Somehow, I am comforted knowing that these are the foods that they ate as children.

Yet of all the dishes that have a special place at my table, none is more special than pasta e ricotta (pasta with ricotta).

This pasta dish consists of four ingredients:  ricotta, water, olive oil and pasta. It is done in the time that it takes you to boil a pot of water and cook your preferred pasta. In our family, we prefer penne for this recipe. Penne are a tubular pasta that are usually cut on the diagonal. They tend to come in two textures: penne lisce (smooth penne) or penne rigate (ridged penne). This type of pasta is perfect for a creamy sauce, like ricotta, because the sauce becomes trapped within the pasta tubes. As well, using the ridged penne allows the sauce to cling to the surface of the pasta. This results in a burst of sauce with every bite.

The ricotta (ricotta means twice cooked) is also an interesting ingredient. Ricotta cheese is usually made from the whey that drains off during the making of either provolone or mozzarella. Ricotta is characterized by being somewhat firm and very fresh-tasting. It is an excellent cheese for fillings and dips, and also eaten on its own. We would often have ricotta and honey as an after-school snack.

In this particular recipe, three-quarters of a cup of ricotta is put into each individual pasta dish. About a minute before you are ready to remove the pasta from the boiling water, a few spoonfuls of the pasta water are added to the ricotta and then mixed in. The hot water serves to loosen the ricotta and the starch in the water, which comes from the cooking pasta, helps to naturally thicken the ricotta sauce. A few drops of olive oil are added to the sauce for flavour. Once the pasta is cooked, it’s added directly to each pasta dish. Mix well and serve.

Over the years, I have seen many variations of this recipe. People will often add the first fresh peas or fava beans of the season. I’ve also seen variations where milk is added to loosen the ricotta and the sauce is then flavoured with a sharp cheese such as Pecorino Romano.

Regardless of how you choose to flavour the sauce, this dish is the epitome of home cooking. So simple. So comforting. So beautiful.

Ciao!

Pasta e Ricotta (Pasta with Ricotta)

Treasured family recipe

• penne rigate (or whichever pasta you prefer)
• 3/4 cup of ricotta (per serving)
• 2-3 tablespoons of pasta water (per serving)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil (per serving)

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil and add salt.
2. Add the penne rigate and cook according to package directions.
3. About a minute before the pasta is ready, put a 3/4 cup of ricotta into each serving plate.
4. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of the pasta water and mix well. The ricotta should loosen and become creamier.
5. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to each serving dish and mix well. As soon as the pasta is ready, drain and portion out the pasta directly into each serving dish.
6. Mix well so that the pasta is completely covered in the ricotta sauce.
7. Serve and enjoy!

Note:  The incredible Sam of Becks & Posh recently posted about making ricotta at home. Why not give it a try? If you do, let me know how it turns out!

"…K-I-S-S-I-N-G/First comes Love/Then Comes Marriage …" well, you know how the rest of the rhyme goes.

When I think of food marriages, I think of warm bread slathered with soft butter, a freshly-baked chocolate chip cookie and a cold glass of milk, golden fried potatoes and a sprinkling of sea salt … I could go on!

The grandest marriage of all, however, has to be chocolate and peanut butter. Whether it’s a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup or your own Nutella and peanut butter sandwich, the two are made to go together.

The idea of chocolate and peanut butter joined in marital bliss came to me last week. I was at work, stressed out and ready to attack a poor, defenceless bar of Lindt milk chocolate when I suddenly developed a massive craving for chocolate and peanut butter. The little light in the refrigerator in my head went on. I remembered an issue of Food & Wine magazine that had the most tantalizing recipe:  Double Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Filling.

Once home, I headed straight for the overburdened bookshelf where I keep copies of food magazines. For once I felt glad that I’m a magazine pack rat.  There it was … bottom shelf … third magazine holder … the April 2004 issue of Food & Wine!

Excitedly I headed up to the kitchen and began pulling out ingredients. Cocoa powder. Check. Buttermilk. Check. Butter (like I would ever be caught without butter). Check. Peanut Butter. Check. Heavy cream (like I would ever be caught without heavy cream). Check. Ingredients at the ready, I set about making my (mini) dream of consuming a perfect dose of chocolate and peanut butter come true.

The recipe was very easy to follow, although I did make a few changes. I used about a 1/4 cup less sugar than the recipe called for. I wanted the chocolate flavour to really stand out. I also added a tablespoon of instant espresso powder. As Ina Garten (the Barefoot Contessa) always says, coffee does enhance the flavour of chocolate. As for the peanut butter, I used my favourite commercial brand:  Skippy. When making peanut butter sandwiches, I’ve converted to natural peanut butters which I love. But for baking, I just can’t help but fall back on the reliable flavour and texture of store-bought peanut butter. Skippy is my favourite because the peanut butter has a slight smoky, roasted quality to it.

Once the cupcakes had baked and cooled, I gleefully stabbed each one and injected the peanut butter filling. It was bliss!

The Food & Wine recipe also recommended double-dipping the cupcakes in the frosting after they’re  baked. I only dipped them once. I found that double-dipping the cupcakes resulted in a bit too much frosting (yes it is possible to have too much frosting). The cupcakes looked like some frosting had just been caked on haphazardly. Instead, I dipped them once and developed a very successful "dip n’ twirl" technique where I dipped the cupcake and gently twirled. After the frosting set, I piped on a lovely peanut butter rosette with a pastry bag.

The following morning I packed up the happy couples and took them to work. While I can’t say the cupcakes enjoyed the experience as they were gobbled up very quickly, I savoured the honeymoon immensely.

And we all lived happily ever after …

Ciao!

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Filling

Adapted from the April 2004 issue of Food & Wine.

• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup of boiling water (you may need extra water)
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/2 sticks plus 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1-1/4 cups granulated sugar (the original recipe calls for 1-1/2 cups)
• 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup peanut butter (smooth)
• 2/3 cup icing sugar
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips (I used mini chips — the original recipe calls for chopped semisweet chocolate)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Line 24 muffin cups with cupcake liners. If you don’t have liners, be sure to butter your muffin tin(s) well.
3. Put the cocoa powder in a bowl and add the boiling water. Mix until a smooth paste forms. You may have to add more than 1/2 a cup of boiling water to form a paste.
4. Once the paste is formed, whisk in the buttermilk.
5. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
6. In a large bowl, begin creaming 1-1/2 sticks of butter with the sugar. Cream until light and fluffy (3 to 4 minutes).
7. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until well combined (be sure to stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl).
8. Add half the dry ingredients to the butter/egg mixture. Mix well.
9. Add half of the cocoa mixture. Mix well.
10. Add the rest of the dry ingredients. Mix well and then add the remaining cocoa mixture and mix well.
11. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin(s).
12. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the cupcakes spring back when touched lightly. Cool the cupcakes in the pan for 10 minutes and then transfer them to wire racks to cool completely.
13. In a bowl, beat the peanut butter with the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter. Sift in the icing sugar and beat for about 2 minutes. The mixture should be light and fluffy. Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch star tip.
14. Pick up a cupcake and press the tip of the pastry bag into the cupcake (not more than an inch into the cupcake). Gently squeeze in some filling and pull the tip out. You will feel the cupcake expand as you inject the filling. Fill all the cupcakes.
15. In a saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a simmer. Remove from heat and add the chocolate. Let it stand for 5 minutes and then whisk until you have a smooth chocolate icing (try not to eat it all with a spoon!). Let the icing stand for about 15 minutes; it will thicken a bit.
16. Gently dip the tops of the cupcakes into the icing using my "dip n’ twirl" technique. Just lower the cupcake top into the icing and twirl gently. While the original recipe recommends dipping once, waiting 5 minutes and then dipping again, I only dipped once.
17. Let the cupcakes sit for about 1/2 an hour and then pipe rosettes onto the cupcakes using the remaining peanut butter filling.

Note:  This recipe yields 24 cupcakes. The original recipe in the Food & Wine issue is inspired by Peggy Cullen of Lucky Star Sweets.

The brilliant Jenny at De Arte Coquinaria (check out the lovely new look of her blog) has tagged me for the "10 Things About Me" MEME. Wow. So you want to know 10 interesting things about me … well … I’m not sure I’m all that interesting, but I’ll give it a try. Here goes:

1. When I was born (early 70s), my parents wanted to call me Tania. However, that name was taken by another family member who had recently given birth to a girl. The next name on the list was Anastasia, but my mom vetoed that one. So the third name on the list was Yvonne, which was inspired by a French actress (not sure which one) that my father and mother admired (I’m guessing it was more my father’s admiration than my mother’s). There was one minor problem. The Italian alphabet does not include the letter "Y". The sound made by the letter "Y" is made by the letter "I", hence, the spelling of my name … Ivonne. 
2. I took my first steps in a shoe store. How fitting!
3. I finally learned how to swim two years ago at the age of 30! I am now a reasonably capable swimmer, although I’m sure I will never be asked to try out for Canada’s synchronized swimming team. I’m just a tad too clumsy for that!
4. The very first thing I baked on my own was a chocolate cake.
5. In September 2003, I slept in the doorway of a fancy boutique, not far from the Spanish Steps in Rome, in the rain during a city-wide blackout. I was with my brother and my cousin. We were in Rome for about a week and on that particular night, we joined hundreds of thousands of people for a celebration of "La Notte Bianca" (the White Night). La Notte Bianca is an incredible event where, for an entire 24-hour period, a city stays completely open. Stores, restaurants, museums … they’re all open! And the city entertains its guests with all sorts of special presentations and shows. It was an amazing nigh! We watched clips of the movie La Dolce Vita broadcast onto the Trevi Fountain and we sipped espresso just feet away from the Pantheon. And then came the rain. And then came the blackout. The subways shut down and there was not a taxi cab to be found anywhere! So we, along with thousands of people, settled in wherever we could find a spot. The night was long, wet and unusually cold, but also exhilarating — it is without question one of my most treasured memories.
6. My family owns a shoe factory called Mellow Walk Footwear Inc.
7. I was class valedictorian in elementary school and high school.
8. In one of my first job interviews after university (I was interviewing for the position of copy editor at a well-known publishing firm that shall remain nameless), I was asked to identify three personal qualities that I needed to work on. I came up with two and then immediately suffered a brain cramp and blurted out the following, "Sometimes, I have trouble paying attention." A quality that I’m sure publishers everywhere are looking for in their copy editors! Needless to say I did not get the job!
9. This past summer, I fulfilled two food dreams by eating at The Zuni Cafe in San Francisco and Chez Panisse in Berkeley, CA (will post about these events at length at a later date).
10. This is what I looked like at the age of 15 months. While I could have removed the red eye, I chose to keep it as I feel it accurately sums up my rabid support for the Toronto Maple Leafs (although the support has waned somewhat after the recent NHL lockout). I’m glad to say that the menacing hockey stick has now been replaced by a not-so-menacing whisk!

I am now tagging Isabella di Pesto of The Hungry Blogger!

Ciao!

Butter … sour cream … apples … brandy.

How can you possibly go wrong?

The answer is:  you cannot! Lucky for me I noticed that we had some Granny Smith apples languishing in our fruit basket. While I love apples, especially Granny Smith apples, I knew those little gems were doomed to turn old and gray before anybody ate them. I could not let that happen!

So I hauled myself over to my overburdened bookshelf (which has been creaking dangerously of late), and I began to leaf through the many volumes of inspiration.

Sour cream apple pie? Apple turnovers? Applesauce with a swirl of sour cream? Hmmm … they all sounded delicious, but not quite what I was looking for.

And then my eyes fell on Tish Boyle’s The Good Cookie and I immediately thought of two things:  Tish’s book is the Cream Puffs in Venice "Flavour of the Month" for January 2006 and I have yet to post about it; and Sour Cream Apple Crumble Bars.

First things first. One of the many reasons I started this blog was that I wanted the chance to finally start using all those cookbooks that I’ve accumulated over the years. So I created the Cream Puffs in Venice "Flavour of the Month" to help me focus on one book at a time. For the month of January 2006, I chose The Good Cookie, but I have yet to post anything about this lovely book.

Published in 2002, this book is an excellent guide to baking some very unique cookies. There are over 250 recipes, most of which are fairly straightforward. The Brandied Eggnog Cookies have become a family classic, and the White Chocolate Pistachio Thumbprint Cookies have become my personal favourite (I’ll post about these cookies at a later date).

So with this book in hand, I realized that there was a recipe that I’d been meaning to try but hadn’t  gotten around to. And wouldn’t you know it you needed Granny Smith apples! Tish’s recipe for Sour Cream Apple Crumble Bars is reminiscent of so many comforting apple desserts:  apple pie, apple crisp, apple crumble and the list goes on!

I found the recipe very easy to follow and the results were, as always, delicious! The buttery and delicate pastry crust is the perfect support for those luscious, caramelly apples with the faint hint of brandy. I did make a few adjustments here and there to suit my own tastes. Namely I used more Granny Smith apples than the original recipe required. I also increased the amount of some ingredients like the lemon juice and the brandy (one can never have too much brandy). Feel free to adapt the recipe to your own tastes … ahh … the joy of cooking!

You’ve heard the saying, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away," right?

Well no one ever said how to eat that apple. So I say, "Eat your Sour Cream Apple Crumble Bars." They’re good for you!

Ciao!

Sour Cream Apple Crumble Bars

adapted from The Good Cookie.

Sweet Pastry Crust

• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 large egg yolk
• 3 to 4 tsp. cold water (the original recipe requires 2 tsp. but I needed more than that for the dough)
• 3/4 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and place a rack in the centre of the oven. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch square baking pan.
2. In the bowl of a food processor, mix together flour, sugar and salt. Mix until well blended. Add the butter pieces to the flour mixture and process until the mixture resembles coarse oatmeal, 6 to 10 seconds.
3. Whisk together the egg yolk, water and vanilla extract. Add the yolk mixture to the flour mixture through the feed tube with the food processor running. Mix until the dough begins to come together, 15 to 20 seconds. (I had to add some more water as the mixture was still a bit dry.)
4. Scrape the dough out of the food processor bowl and into the prepared pan. Using your fingers or the back of a spoon, pat the dough into an even layer. Bake until the crust is golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and let cool completely.

Apple Filling

• 1 1/2 pounds Granny Smith apples (4 to 5 medium)
• 3 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 tbsp. frozen apple juice concentrate
• 2 tsp. cornstarch
• 3 tbsp. Calvados or brandy (original recipe required 2 tbsp. of Calvados or brandy. Feel free to add more!)
• 3 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Peel and core the apples and then cut into 1/2-inch pieces.
3. In a bowl, mix the apples, lemon juice, concentrate, cornstarch and brandy.
4. In a large skillet, melt the butter and then add the brown sugar. Stir well and be sure that there are no lumps.
5. Add the apple mixture to the skillet. Cook for about 5 minutes or until the apples are soft, but not too soft.
6. Transfer mixture to a bowl and set aside.

Topping

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 7 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

1. In a bowl, combine all of the topping ingredients. Mix well so that all the ingredients are thoroughly moistened. Set aside.

Sour Cream Mixture

• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/3 cup currants or chopped raisins (optional)
• Icing sugar for dusting (optional)

1. Mix the sour cream into the cooled apple mixture. Spread this mixture evenly over the cooled pastry crust.
2. Sprinkle the prepared topping evenly over the apple and sour cream mixture. With your hand, gently press the topping into the apple mixture.
3. Bake the bars for 35 to 40 minutes, or until golden around the edges.
4. Cool the bars completely before cutting into squares. Be sure to use a sharp knife when cutting the bars.

This past Christmas I vowed that unlike previous years, I would actually make use of all of my gifts as soon as possible. This is, after all, the girl who received a Cuisinart food processor for Christmas two years ago and proceeded to leave it in the box for an entire year before taking it out and finally using it. I know, I know! I don’t deserve the food processor. But what can I say? It is now an indispensable part of my batterie de cuisine and no you can longer confiscate it from me on the grounds of neglect.

So with this vow in mind, I eagerly set about unveiling my brand new pizza stone, which was a gift from my mother.

Now I do not for one single moment believe that a pizza stone is required to make great pizza. My mom has been making incredible pizza at home for as long as I can remember. But for me, there is some sort of deeper bond to the pizza stone. I think it has to do with my yearning for a wood-fired oven.

The first time that I ever saw a wood-fired oven, much less ate food cooked in a wood-fired oven, was as a little girl in Italy. My father’s family lived there so we would visit often in the summers. Those days were usually spent with my paternal grandparents who still lived in their home in the hills outside of Ascoli Piceno in the region of Le Marche. It was there, in my grandmother’s rustic kitchen, that there lived a small but very effective wood-fired oven.

I’m not sure why that oven has such a hold on me.  Maybe it’s the memories of watching the fire being slowly built, the smell of the food cooking almost instantly in the oven’s chamber, or the way everything looked as it emerged crisp and golden. All I know is that I have always wanted one.

At the moment, my modest home kitchen does not have the capacity for a wood-fired oven, although a girl can always dream! Until that day comes, I will content myself with my pizza stone, which is a much smaller, more lightweight and easier-to-clean way for me to reconnect with those summer days.

For the pizza dough, I used the recipe that has now become a classic in our family. I am not exaggerating when I say that we have tried at least a hundred different pizza dough recipes over the years. But I always come back to this one. Reliable and easy, it has never failed me. It’s a recipe from a book called Pizza by Lorenza De’ Medici Stucchi. If you have a favourite pizza dough recipe, however, by all means go ahead and try it out on a pizza stone! If you don’t have a pizza stone, never fear, just use regular pizza pans or rimmed baking pans.

While I usually make two large pizzas from this recipe, I decided to make smaller pizzas, about eight to ten inches in diameter. In all, I was able to make six pizzas.

As for the toppings, well, therein lies the greatness of pizza. It’s like a canvas waiting to be painted  on. This time around, I chose three different versions:  Yukon gold potatoes with blue cheese and rosemary; tomato sauce with roasted garlic, mozzarella and chili oil; and tomato sauce with artichokes and goat cheese.

While I still yearn for that wood-fired oven, for now I shall content myself with pizza from my own hearth!

Ciao!

Basic Pizza Dough

adapted from Pizza.

• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 1 cup lukewarm water
• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for working and rolling the dough
• 1 teaspoon salt
• olive oil (to grease the bowl)
• cornmeal (if you’re using a pizza stone)

By Hand

1. In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in the water and let stand until slightly foamy on top, about 10 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the flour (2 3/4 cups) and the salt. Form into a mound and make a well in the centre.
3. Add the yeast mixture and either with a fork or your hands, slowly begin incorporating the flour into the yeast mixture. Continue mixing until a dough forms. If the dough is too sticky, add more flour.
4. Lightly flour a work surface and transfer the dough to the surface.
5. Using the heel of your hand, knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.
6. Form the dough into a ball and then place in an oiled bowl. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and also a tea towel. Place the dough in a draft-free place and let rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
7. Once the dough is ready, preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. (If you’re using a pizza stone, follow the manufacturer’s directions for heating the stone.)
8. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface.
9. Roll the dough to fit the pan that you are using.
10. Top the dough as desired (see my variations below). (If you’re using a pizza stone, be sure to sprinkle some cornmeal on the pizza peel or whatever instrument you’re using to transfer the pizza from your work surface to the pizza stone, and on the pizza stone.)
11. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the pizza crust is golden and the toppings are cooked. (If you’re using a pizza stone, transfer your pizza to the stone and cook according to manufacturer’s instructions.)

With the food processor:

1. Follow Step 1 above.
2. Place the flour (2 3/4 cups) and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to combine.
3. With the motor running, pour the yeast mixture through the feed tube.
4. Combine until the dough begins to form clumps around the processor blade. If the dough is too sticky, add flour.
5. Remove the dough from the processor bowl and knead 5 or 6 times to form into a ball.
6. Place dough in an oiled bowl. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and also a tea towel. Place the dough in a draft-free place and let rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
7. Follow Steps 7 through 11 above.
8. Enjoy!

For the pizza with Yukon gold potatoes, blue cheese and rosemary

• 4 Yukon gold potatoes
• blue cheese (as much as your heart desires)
• a few sprigs of rosemary
• olive oil
• sea salt (optional)

1. Peel and rinse the potatoes. Slice into 1/4-inch slices.
2. Brush the prepared dough with olive oil.
3. Lay the potato slices on the pizza.
4. Crumble the blue cheese over the potato slices and sprinkle with rosemary and sea salt.
5. Bake as directed above.

For the pizza with tomato sauce, roasted garlic mozzarella and chili oil

• your favourite basic tomato sauce
• roasted garlic (as much as your heart desires)
• 1/2 cup to 1 cup of shredded mozzarella depending on the size of the pizza
• chili oil (for drizzling)
• sea salt (optional)

1. Brush the prepared dough with chili oil (or olive oil).
2. Spread tomato sauce on the dough and then add roasted garlic.
3. Top with shredded mozzarella. Sprinkle with sea salt.
4. Bake as directed above.
5. When the pizza comes out of the oven, drizzle with chili oil for added flavour

For pizza with tomato sauce, artichokes and goat cheese

• your favourite basic tomato sauce
• canned artichokes, drained and sliced
• goat cheese (as much as you like)
• olive oil
• sea salt (optional)

1. Brush the prepared dough with olive oil.
2. Spread tomato sauce on the dough.
3. Arrange artichoke slices and goat cheese on the dough. Sprinkle with sea salt.
4. Bake as directed above.

Note:  If you are using a pizza stone, be careful not to sprinkle too much cornmeal on the stone before baking the pizza. I speak from experience when I say that there is nothing worse than burnt cornmeal!

There are certain ills that only pasta can cure. Bad day at the office? No chocolate in the house? Sore feet?  Never fear.  These are all curable with a plate of pasta. Don’t believe me? Try it.

It’s no wonder then that after a particularly stressful day, not too long ago, I had pasta on the brain. But not just any pasta dish … pasta al forno. Baked pasta.

In the dead of winter, when spring seems like a wish that will never come true, nothing comforts quite as much as baked pasta. Yes, buttery mashed potatoes can help. And I’ll admit that a well-made rice pudding will set off a warm glow inside the belly. But neither come close to a plate of creamy, buttery, cheese-enrobed, crusty-topped pasta that calls to you the way the lighthouse calls to the lost ship. Come to me, it says, as it opens its arms wide to envelop you in its warmth.

For quite awhile I ignored the siren call of one baked pasta dish in particular. But last week, resistance was futile. I succumbed to the temptation of penne with five cheeses (actually six cheeses as I fiddled with the recipe). 

This particular pasta dish, from the Barefoot Contessa Family Style Cookbook, had been giving me "come hither" looks for at least six months. It was around that time that I first saw the Barefoot Contessa episode where she prepared this dish. Now you must understand that when I watch Ina Garten, I am usually torn between two emotions: envy because I want her kitchen so badly and admiration because I admire her kitchen so badly.  Much of the time, the food takes on the role of supporting actor to the Barefoot Contessa’s leading lady.  But not the penne with five cheeses.  Sorry, Ina, but you faded into the background like all those lovely copper pots on your stove. 

Armed with my cookbook, I set about to prepare the pasta dish that would offer me so much comfort. I tweaked it a bit. I added Parmigiano Reggiano because if you have five cheeses you might as well have six. And I didn’t bake it in individual gratin dishes. I baked it in a rectangular ceramic dish that held all those lovely little penne together as one. I must also admit that I broke one of my own little food rules:  I used an ingredient out of season. Basil. You see basil isn’t exactly flourishing in Canada at this time of year. But I had to do it. It’s as if that little package of basil promised that summer would soon return and bring with it all the glories of the garden.

When I finally removed the pasta from the oven, I set it gently on the counter and let it cool slightly before I greedily dug into it. As expected, the bad day was forgotten. I suddenly remembered a secret chocolate stash in the kitchen cupboard. My feet were no longer sore. And like the lost ship struggling to make it home, I saw the light and made it to dry land.

Ciao!

Penne with Six Cheeses

Adapted from the Barefoot Contessa Family Style Cookbook.

• salt
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 1/4 cups crushed tomatoes in a thick puree
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano
• 1/4 cup shredded imported Italian fontina
• 1/4 cup crumbled Italian Gorgonzola
• 3 tbsp. ricotta cheese
• 1/4 pound buffalo mozzarella, sliced thinly (use fresh mozzarella if you can’t find buffalo mozzarella)
• 3 tbsp. Parmigiano Reggiano (add more if you like!)
• 3 or 4 fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 1 pound of penne rigate (you can use regular penne or rigatoni)
• 4 tbsp. unsalted butter

To make the pasta

1. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and then add salt; stir.
3. In a large bowl, mix all of the ingredients except the penne and the butter. Mix well so that the cheeses and cream are combined
4. Drop the penne into the boiling water and boil for 5 minutes. Drain the penne and immediately add to mixture of cheeses and cream. Toss to combine making sure that the pasta is completely coated in the mixture.
5. Pour the pasta into a large baking dish. Dot with butter and bake until bubbly and brown on top, 7 to 10 minutes.

Note:  I have an older oven that isn’t well-calibrated so it took a bit longer (about 15 minutes).

You cannot imagine my reaction when the lovely Rorie of Milk & Honey informed me that I had been "tagged".

Tagged? Childhood memories of always being "it" flooded back to me. Don’t tell me I’m "it" again!

And then I realized that this is an entirely different game of tag. Oh, glorious day! Cream Puffs in Venice has been tagged for its first MEME. Surely this day will go down in history … ok … I see I’m getting carried away.

I’ll stop now.

I present to you the Official Cream Puffs in Venus response to the 7 MEME …

7 Things to Do Before I Die

1. (Obviously) Eat a cream puff in Venice.
2. Own and run a charming and adorable pastry shop where butter is appreciated for the glorious food that it is. And no one feels guilty about it.
3. Live in Italy.
4. Get married and have children (my mother will be sooooooooo happy …)
5. Be part of the annual chestnut harvest in the Fall and help collect chestnuts from the trees we own in Rocca di Montecalvo, Le Marche, Italy.
6. Watch the Toronto Maple Leafs win the Stanley Cup (I better not hear any laughing.)
7. Invite all food bloggers, the world over, to my house for dinner. The menu would feature the following: 

• Appetizer:  roasted figs with blue cheese and prosciutto, stuffed baby artichokes, roasted tomatoes and stuffed olives;
• First course:  my mother’s crepes in broth and her ricotta agnellotti with a sauce of butter, nutmeg and parmesan;
• Second course:  frenched lamb chops that have been breaded and fried ("manichitti" in Italian), my mother’s deboned chicken roll stuffed with oranges and then wrapped in its own skin, tied and roasted, potatoes Anna, broccoli rabe with chili flakes, stuffed mushrooms and roasted asparagus;
• Salad course:  a mixture of freshly-picked lettuces (from our garden) with slices of roasted fennel in a light vinaigrette of olive oil and balsamic vinegar;
• Fruit course:  a tray of perfectly ripened Ontario strawberries with lightly whipped cream; and
• Dessert:  my white chocolate, raspberry and pistachio tart.

7 Things I Cannot Do

1. Invite all food bloggers, the world over, to my house for dinner. (It’s a space issue, people!)
2. Avoid the cookbook section.
3. Avoid the food magazine section.
4. Give up chocolate.
5. Stop hoping that the Toronto Maple Leafs will win the Stanley Cup. (I said no laughing!)
6. Leave the mall without stopping in at Williams Sonoma.
7. Stop dreaming.

7 Things that Attract Me to Blogging

1. The food.
2. The people behind the blogs.
3. I like to know what everyone is eating for dinner.
4. I like to see how many cookbooks other people own (and which ones). Then I don’t feel so bad when I look at my "wall of cookbooks".
5. The incredible pictures of food. (While licking my computer screen would normally be a revolting thought … believe me I’ve been tempted!)
6. Food blog humour. (Some of you out there are really funny!)
7. The inspiration to expand my culinary mind.

7 Things I Say Most Often

1. "I want chocolate!"
2. "Do you have chocolate?"
3. "Are you going to watch the [hockey] game?"
4. "I think I’m going to bake something!"
5. "You are not going to believe this!"
6. "Are you serious?"
7. "You have to try this recipe!"

7 Books I Love

1. A Thousand Days in Venice by Marlena De Blasi
2. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres
3. Emma by Jane Austen
4. The Iliad by Homer (technically not a book)
5. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
6. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
7. The Game by Ken Dryden

7 Movies/DVDs I Watch Over and Over Again

1. The Sound of Music
2. Billy Elliot
3. The Godfather I and II (let us never speak of The Godfather III)
4. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
5. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (the scene on the parade float gets me every time!)
6. Gladiator
7. Pride and Prejudice (the A&E series starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle)

7 Tags

1. Rowena at Rubber Slippers in Italy
2. Jenny at Coquinaria
3. Angelika at The Flying Apple
4. Paz at The Cooking Adventures of Chef Paz
5. Bea at La Tartine Gourmande
6. Kat at Our Adventures in Japan
7. Fiordizucca at Fiordizucca

Ciao!

First of all, I would like to "officially" welcome everyone to Cream Puffs in Venice. While a few of you have been aware of my blog for awhile (Mommy and Uncle Nick), this is what I am calling the official launch of my blog.

In the days, months and years to come, I hope this blog will be both an enjoyable read for my family and friends (especially those in the blogging community) and the opportunity for me to finally achieve some of those dreams I’ve had for awhile. More on that to come in the posts ahead.

(Oh yes … this blog is also a good way to finally start using all those cookbooks!!!)

So why the name Cream Puffs in Venice? Well, for starters, cream puffs were probably the first "difficult" pastry that I tried my hand at. The funny thing is that making cream puffs isn’t all that hard. 

Cream puffs are made from what is commonly referred to as choux pastry.  Unlike other types of butter-based pastry such as puff pastry, there’s no rolling or chilling involved.  Choux pastry is essentially a blending of water, butter, flour and eggs.  The versatile choux pastry can be used to make a variety of treats, including eclairs. If you’re making cream puffs, the choux pastry is either piped or dropped by spoonfuls onto baking sheets.  It may sound complicated, but it isn’t.

The silkiest and smoothest of pastry creams is used to fill the beloved puffs and voila, you have one of my very favourite pastries.

So what about the Venice part? Well a few months ago, I had the good fortune to come across a wonderful book by Marlena De Blasi called A Thousand Days in Venice.  Charming, touching and envy-inducing, the book had an enormous impact on me. I decided that it was time for me to dip my feet in the blogging waters. I combined a much beloved pastry with the images of a city that I would love to visit, and I arrived at my blog.

I sincerely hope that you it will be a source of good food and good stories for all of you!

As for the cream puffs, while I’ve used a multitude of different recipes and adaptations, I always seem to come back to the very first recipe I tried from a book called Canadian Living Cooks Step by Step.  Please do give them a try!

One note about this recipe:  While the yield is 85 puffs, the instructions divide the recipe into two batches. So you can easily make one batch for 40 to 45 glorious puffs. Of course you will have pastry cream leftover … but I can think of worse things than leftover pastry cream!

Ciao!

Cream Puffs with Pastry Cream

from Canadian Living Cooks Step by Step

Pastry Cream

• 3 cups (750 ml) milk
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup (175 ml) granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup (50 ml) all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp. (15 ml) cornstarch
• 2 tbsp. butter (25 ml)
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla (7 ml)
• 2 cups (500 ml) whipping cream

1. In heavy saucepan, heat milk until steaming. Meanwhile, in bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, flour and cornstarch; gradually pour in milk in thin stream, whisking constantly. Return to clean pan. Cook over medium heat, whisking, for 5 minutes or just until boiling; cook, whisking, for 2 minutes longer or until thickened. Remove from heat; stir in butter and vanilla.
2. Pour into bowl; place waxed paper directly on surface to prevent skin from forming. Refrigerate until cool, at least 4 hours. Whip cream, gently fold into pastry cream with spatula just until combined.

Note:  Pastry cream can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Choux Pastry

• 2 cups (500 ml) water
• 1 cup (250 ml) butter, cubed
• 1/4 tsp. (1 ml) salt
• 2 1/2 cups (625 ml) all-purpose flour
• 8 eggs

Glaze

• 1 egg

1. Line two 17- x 11-inch (45 x 29 cm) baking sheets with parchment paper, or grease and dust with flour. In heavy saucepan, bring half of each of the water, butter and salt to boil over high heat; immediately remove from heat. Add half of the flour all at once; stir vigorously with wooden spoon until mixture comes away from side of pan in smooth ball. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for 4 minutes or until film forms on bottom of pan.  Transfer to bowl; stir for 30 seconds to cool slightly. Make well in centre.
2. Using electric mixer, beat in 4 of the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat until shiny and pastry holds its shape when lifted. Using pastry bag fitted with 1/4-inch (5 mm) plain tip or with spoon, pipe pastry into 1 1/4-inch (3 cm) round by 3/4-inch (2 cm) high mounds on pans. Glaze:  Beat egg with 1 tbsp (15 ml) water; brush half over pastry, flattening tips and making sure glaze doesn’t drip onto pan.
3. Bake in 425 degree F (220 degree C) oven for 20 minutes; rotate trays. Reduce heat to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C); bake for 10 minutes or until golden. With knife, make small hole in bottom of each; bake for 5 minutes. Turn off oven; let stand in oven for 10 minutes to dry. Transfer to rack; let cool. With wooden spoon handle, enlarge hole in each puff. Repeat with remaining choux pastry ingredients and glaze to make 85 puffs in total.
4. Spoon pastry cream into pastry bag fitted with 1/4-inch (5 mm) plain tip. Pipe into hole in each puff, squeezing bag gently until puff is filled with cream. Place on waxed paper-lined baking sheet. (Puffs can be lightly covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 1 hour.)

I always like to dust them with icing sugar and pile them high on a lovely serving dish. Warning:  they go very quickly!

A recent post entitled "Back from the depths and a Xmas present …" on one of my favourite blogs, Jam Faced, made me stop and smile.  I could definitely relate.

While I had a pleasant enough Christmas holiday, I was brought momentarily down by some sort of stomach ailment or flu.  To those family members that continue to insist that my malaise was caused by excessive consumption of rich holiday food, I say nonsense! It was the stomach flu. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Nevertheless, the fact that I spent almost four days lying down and watching old episodes of "Matlock" and "Hawaii Five-O" meant that a lot of the Christmas cooking and baking I’d planned to do went out the window.

Nothing brought this fact home more so than my discovery of an unopened container of mascarpone lost in the wilds of my refrigerator.  I found it cowering behind containers of menacing leftovers that were in such an advanced state of decay that only Gil Grissom and the CSI team would find them interesting!

What to do with this found treasure? Normally I would whip up a tiramisu but to be honest, I’m all "tiramisued" out. I know that’s shocking, but trust me, tiramisu has become one of the most popular desserts for Italians at the holidays. I must have been served at least four different tiramisus this past December alone. Enough is enough … even for this mascarpone lover!

But that still left me with my dilemma. And then it hit me. I recalled reading an issue of Saveur magazine that had a wonderful article entitled "Drawing out the Flavor" by Marcella Hazan. I was so impressed by the piece that I actually went out and bought Hazan’s Marcella says….

The article (and the book) was a joy to read. I’d never been exposed to Hazan before. I knew who she was of course, but I’d never "heard" her voice as I did when I read that article. Her wisdom and and respect for the pure, unadulterated foods of her country were so compelling.

What intrigued me most was a mention in the magazine of a snack that Hazan would often enjoy as a child for merenda (mid-afternoon snack):  dates stuffed with mascarpone.

At first this combination seemed so odd. Dates stuffed with mascarpone?! But as I thought about it, I came to realize that it was a match made in heaven.  The dense creaminess of the mascarpone coupled with the sticky sweetness of the date would have to be incredible together.  Topped off with a lovely walnut half, it was pure delight.

Once this memory of food discovery came to me, I knew I had to run out and pick up some dates (the fruit that is).  As luck would have it, I attended a small gathering at my cousin’s house this evening. It was the perfect opportunity to share these delectable treats.

So here is proof positive of three things: 1) you just never know what’s hiding at the back of your refrigerator; 2) the discovery of new flavour combinations is always a joyous moment for the taste buds; and 3) mascarpone rules!

Ciao!

Datteri Freschi Farciti di Mascarpone (Fresh Dates Stuffed with Mascarpone)

from Marcella says… by Marcella Hazan.

12 fresh dates, pitted or unpitted

3 tablespoons mascarpone

1. Split open each date lengthwise on just one side, leaving the other hinged. If the dates have pits, use the tip of a paring knife to pry them out.
2. Stuff each date with a tiny scoop of mascarpone, about the size of a grape, then partially close the date over the cheese. Stuff the remaining dates in the same manner. Place the stuffed dates on a rimmed serving plate and refrigerate until you are ready to serve them.

Note:  As an added treat, place a walnut half in each date after you’ve filled them with mascarpone.

A New Year … a new beginning.

While I’m not one for resolutions, I do resolve to make my blog public very soon.

But I’m still hanging on to a few things from 2005, mainly because I haven’t had the chance to write about them yet. For example, I cannot bid adieu to 2005 until I talk to you about The Good Cookie by Tish Boyle.

I. Love. This. Book.

I bought it two years ago and can honestly say that I have not regretted the purchase once. Beside the fact that the book is beautifully designed and photographed, the recipes are easy to follow and well-organized. The introductions to each cookie recipe are so inviting. Surprisingly, I’ve only tried a handful of the recipes in this book (there are over 250 recipes in total). But this must be remedied my friends. This is why I have made this book the Cream Puffs in Venice "Flavour of the Month" for January 2006.

I have the honour of becoming a godmother in February. You can be certain that I will be turning to this book for assistance when the time comes to bake cookies for that grand occasion.

Happy 2006!

Ciao!

The Brandied Eggnog Cookies pictured above are from The Good Cookie by Tish Boyle.