If you hear music in the air it’s because Daring Bakers the world around are posting their tribute to one of the world’s great confections: Opéra Cake or L’Opéra as they would say in France.

For the May 2008 Daring Bakers‘ challenge, I have the privilege of hosting with my incredible co-founder Lis and with two of our newer Daring Baker members: Fran of Apples Peaches Pumpkin Pie and Shea of Whiskful.

The challenge chosen is the aforementioned Opéra Cake, but with a twist. We decided that in honour of spring, we’d attempt a lighter version of the cake and by lighter I don’t mean reduced calories. What I mean is we wanted to create cakes that were light in flavour and colour.

While we did our best to research the origins of this cake, we were unable to find out much beyond the fact that the creation of the cake is attributed to a gentleman by the name of Louis Clichy who first presented it in the early 1900s in Paris. Dalloyau, the great Parisian pâtisserie, is also attributed with offering a version of the cake that is considered by many to be the definitive version.

Traditionally, L’Opéra consists of layers of almond-based cake (joconde) that are moistened with syrup and then filled with buttercream. The cake is then topped with a mousse or ganache and followed by a glaze. Usually the flavours tend towards coffee and chocolate.

For our version of the cake, we relied on two sources: Dorie Greenspan’s Paris Sweets and Tish Boyle’s and Timothy Moriarty’s Chocolate Passion.

The building blocks of this cake, namely the joconde and the soaking syrup, were relatively straightforward. I didn’t have jelly roll pans that were the size required so I ended up using my trusty old sheet pans, which were slightly larger. The resulting joconde was a bit thinner than what the recipe intended but I was extra careful in handling them and cutting them to size so I didn’t have any troubles there.

For the soaking syrup, I decided to flavour it with a lovely liquid called Talea Amaretto Cream Liqueur. I wanted my cake to have a very strong almond flavour (to mirror the almond meal in the joconde) so I chose a liqueur that was very almondy (and delicious!).

Having the joconde and soaking syrup ready, I proceeded with the buttercream. This buttercream begins with a syrup of sugar, water and flavouring (vanilla in my case) that is cooked to a certain stage and then added to a whipped mixture of egg. The trick is to add the syrup very slowly because if it hits the spinning whisk it can create threads and strings that will ruin your buttercream. Once all the syrup is in, you add butter. I also added a liberal amount of almond extract to help with the flavour.

I adored this buttercream! It was silky and buttery. It was rich without eaving a greasy taste in your mouth as buttercream sometimes does. And it was a dream to spread.

While I was anxious to build my cake, I decided not to skip one of the components that is often found in Opéra Cake: the mousse or ganache layer that goes on top of the cake before the glaze is added.

The mousse was basically a mixture of melted white chocolate, heavy cream and more Talea. The heavy cream is whipped to a fluffy consistency and then mixed with the chocolate and refrigerated until ready to use.

Finally, it was time to start building my cake!

I began by cutting the pieces into the appropriate sizes with the first piece being a rectangle. I brushed it liberally with soaking syrup and then topped it with most of the buttercream. I fit two square pieces of joconde over the first layer of buttercream and brushed those with more soaking syrup. I then used the remainder of the buttercream. I ended with the final piece of joconde which I dampened with the remaining syrup.

When I build cakes with many layers, I like to take breaks in between to referigerate the cake. I think letting it get cold helps to stabilize it and it also gives me a break to ensure that I don’t rush and make a mistake or a mess, which is often what I do. Patience is not one of my virtues in the kitchen!

So after letting the cake sit in the fridge for about thirty minutes, I took it out and added the white chocolate mousse layer. I then popped it back in the fridge while I made the glaze.

The white chocolate glaze was simply melted white chocolate mixed with heavy cream. The key is to let the glaze cool so that it’s still spreadable but not too hot (or it will melt your mousse layer).

Of course I got a bit impatient and poured the glaze on a bit too soon. Some of my mousse melted into the glaze (or vice versa) and I ended up with not the prettiest of top layers. To resolve my blunder, I melted some candy coating (in pink) and used it to create a squiggly design on the entire top of my cake. This effectively hid the “ugly melty spots” as I came to call them and gave my cake a very colourful and light look.

I used the remaining melted candy coating to pipe out musical symbols, which was a lot of fun. I let the cake and the symbols chill for several hours before trimming it. As careful as I was, parts of my cake were a bit uneven and I wanted a cake with perfectly even sides. So I trimmed off the uneven bits and thoroughly enjoyed eating them!

The rest of the cake was given a few final touches and photographed. I brought it to work the next day where everyone loved it. While it was sweet, the cake is not meant to be eaten in huge portions. A little goes a very long way.

Overall, I was very happy with my first attempt at Opéra Cake!

The most important thing I can tell you about this month’s challenge is that it’s dedicated to Barbara of winosandfoodies.com. Many of you know may know Barbara from her blog and many of you may also know her for her support and efforts for LiveSTRONG, the Lance Armstrong Foundation. As part of her efforts for LiveSTRONG Day, Barbara hosts A Taste of Yellow, which is an event that unites food bloggers everywhere in the fight against cancer.

Barbara was a member of the Daring Bakers for awhile but had to resign for personal reasons. But as Lis so eloquently put it, she’ll always be a Daring Baker because she represents the very qualities that we all work hard for: she’s is strong, she is passionate, she’s a fighter.

Barbara, this cake is for you!

Ciao!

The Daring Bakers’ Opéra Cake
Adapted from Dorie Greenspan’s Paris Sweets and Tish Boyle’s and Timothy Moriarty’s Chocolate Passion.

For the joconde:

6 large egg whites, at room temperature
2 tbsp. (30 grams) granulated sugar
2 cups (225 grams) ground blanched almonds
2 cups icing sugar, sifted
6 large eggs
½ cup (70 grams) all-purpose flour
3 tbsp. (1½ ounces; 45 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Divide the oven into thirds by positioning a rack in the upper third of the oven and the lower third of the oven.

Preheat the oven to 425◦F. (220◦C).

Line two 12½ x 15½- inch (31 x 39-cm) jelly-roll pans with parchment paper and brush with melted butter.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or using a handheld mixer), beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Add the granulated sugar and beat until the peaks are stiff and glossy. If you do not have another mixer bowl, gently scrape the meringue into another bowl and set aside.

If you only have one bowl, wash it after removing the egg whites or if you have a second bowl, use that one. Attach the paddle attachment to the stand mixer (or using a handheld mixer again) and beat the almonds, icing sugar and eggs on medium speed until light and voluminous, about 3 minutes.

Add the flour and beat on low speed until the flour is just combined (be very careful not to overmix here!!!).

Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the meringue into the almond mixture and then fold in the melted butter. Divide the batter between the pans and spread it evenly to cover the entire surface of each pan.

Bake the cake layers until they are lightly browned and just springy to the touch. This could take anywhere from 5 to 9 minutes depending on your oven. Place one jelly-roll pan in the middle of the oven and the second jelly-roll pan in the bottom third of the oven.

Put the pans on a heatproof counter and run a sharp knife along the edges of the cake to loosen it from the pan. Cover each with a sheet of parchment or wax paper, turn the pans over, and unmold.

Carefully peel away the parchment, then turn the parchment over and use it to cover the cakes. Let the cakes cool to room temperature.

For the soaking syrup:

½ cup (125 grams) water
⅓ cup (65 grams) granulated sugar
1 to 2 tbsp. of the flavouring of your choice (i.e., vanilla extract, almond extract, cognac, limoncello, coconut cream, honey etc.)

Stir all the syrup ingredients together in the saucepan and bring to a boil.

Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.

For the buttercream (The recipe for the buttercream that is listed here is based on the original. When testing the buttercream, we tested a slightly modified version that had 2 cups sugar, ½ cup water and 1¾ cups butter. The eggs remained the same. We ended up with a very creamy buttercream. But we don’t want anyone to be afraid of our modified version so you have the option of using the original above or the quantities we’ve listed here in this note):

1 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar (Used to say 2 cups but should be 1 cup)
¼ cup (60 grams) water (Used to say ½ cup but should say ¼ cup)
seeds of one vanilla bean (split a vanilla bean down the middle and scrape out the seeds) or 1 tbsp. pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1¾ sticks (7 ounces; 200 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature (Used to say 1¾ cups of butter but it should be 1¾ sticks).
flavouring of your choice (a tablespoon of an extract, a few tablespoons of melted white chocolate, citrus zest, etc.)

Combine the sugar, water and vanilla bean seeds or extract in a small saucepan and warm over medium heat just until the sugar dissolves.

Continue to cook, without stirring, until the syrup reaches 225◦F (107◦C) (Note: The original recipe instructs to heat the syrup to 255◦F (124◦C). We heated it to 225◦F and it worked just fine. However, if you are concerned, then by all means heat your syrup to 255◦F.) on a candy or instant-read thermometer. Once it reaches that temperature, remove the syrup from the heat.

While the syrup is heating, begin whisking the egg and egg yolk at high speed in the bowl of your mixer using the whisk attachment. Whisk them until they are pale and foamy.

When the sugar syrup reaches the correct temperature and you remove it from the heat, reduce the mixer speed to low speed and begin slowly (very slowly) pouring the syrup down the side of the bowl being very careful not to splatter the syrup into the path of the whisk attachment. Some of the syrup will spin onto the sides of the bowl but don’t worry about this and don’t try to stir it into the mixture as it will harden!

Raise the speed to medium-high and continue beating until the eggs are thick and satiny and the mixture is cool to the touch (about 5 minutes or so).

While the egg mixture is beating, place the softened butter in a bowl and mash it with a spatula until you have a soft creamy mass.

With the mixer on medium speed, begin adding in two-tablespoon chunks. When all the butter has been incorporated, raise the mixer speed to high and beat until the buttercream is thick and shiny.

At this point add in your flavouring and beat for an additional minute or so.

Refrigerate the buttercream, stirring it often, until it’s set enough (firm enough) to spread when topped with a layer of cake (about 20 minutes).

For the ganache/mousse:

7 ounces white chocolate
1 cup plus 3 tbsp. heavy cream (35% cream)
1 tbsp. liquer of your choice (Bailey’s, Amaretto, etc.)

Melt the white chocolate and the 3 tbsp. of heavy cream in a small saucepan.

Stir to ensure that it’s smooth and that the chocolate is melted. Add the tablespoon of liqueur to the chocolate and stir. Set aside to cool completely.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip the remaining 1 cup of heavy cream until soft peaks form.

Gently fold the whipped cream into the cooled chocolate to form a mousse.

If it’s too thin, refrigerate it for a bit until it’s spreadable.

If you’re not going to use it right away, refrigerate until you’re ready to use.

For the glaze:

14 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped
½ cup heavy cream (35% cream)

Melt the white chocolate with the heavy cream. Whisk the mixture gently until smooth.

Let cool for 10 minutes and then pour over the chilled cake. Using a long metal cake spatula, smooth out into an even layer.

Place the cake into the refrigerator for 30 minutes to set.

Enjoy!

Sometimes I think I must be related to the Cookie Monster.

Even though he may not be as addicted to cookies as he once was.

What’s up with that???

Anyway, I’m always happy to talk about a new cookie discovery and this week I simply must tell you about the Giant Chocolate-Toffee Cookies from the March 2000 issue of Bon Appétit magazine (another Magazine Mondays recipe crossed off the list!).

Let’s see. They’re big. They’re chocolatey. They have chopped up Skor bars in them.

Okay, go make some.

Go … and make sure you have a good week too!

Ciao!

Here’s the recipe for Giant Chocolate-Toffee Cookies.

Sugar High Friday is one of my favourite events and yet I always seem to miss the opportunity to participate. However, when I saw that my Helene was hosting this month’s edition and that the theme she’d chosen was Citrus, I just had to make time!

I contemplated a number of very complicated desserts but instead settled on a simple cookie that is perfect for a tea party because to me, the spring is the perfect time for a tea party. The original recipe for these lovely little bites is from Issue 22 of the Donna Hay Magazine.

Called Pistachio and Lemon Bites, the cookies are very similar to other butter and nut-based cookies like Mexican Wedding Cakes. But these have a lovely lemony flavour and scent as well as a very appealing colour thanks to the pistachios.

I made these cookies over a week ago and I kept thinking about how to present them in this post. I tried to come up with some interesting angles but in the end I decided that there’s not much to say beyond this: Just as Helene provides so much light and flavour and enjoyment with her blog and baking, so do these cookies provide the perfect taste of butter, nuts and lemon.

Just enjoy them.

Ciao!

Pistachio and Lemon Bites
From Issue 22 of Donna Hay Magazine.

Note: This recipe makes about 30 cookies. The original recipe made a very dry and crumbly dough so I tweaked it a bit.

12 tbsp. unsalted butter (1-1/2 sticks of butter), at room temperature
3 tbsp. superfine sugar (also called fruit sugar)
1/2 cup pistachios (shelled and unsalted), chopped (not too finely)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. finely grated lemon rind
icing sugar (for dusting)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Combine the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer (using the paddle attachment) and mix on high speed until very light and fluffy (5 minutes).

Add the pistachios and vanilla extract and mix on high speed for an additional 2 minutes.

Add the flour and lemon rind and mix on low speed until the dough begins to come together.

Roll tablespoonfuls of dough into balls and place on the baking sheets.

Bake for 15 minutes. The cookies should be lightly golden. If not, bake for a few minutes more.

Remove from the oven and let sit for about 5 minutes before rolling in icing sugar.

Enjoy!

Technorati tags: sugar high friday

Lately, as I rush out of the house in the morning grabbing at the fruit basket before I go, my reaction tends to be the same, “Apples, again!”

Now I love apples. But by this time of year we’ve been on a steady diet of apples as primary fruit since … oh … about September.

What I want are peaches. Juicy, fuzzy Ontario peaches.

And I want those few precious strawberries from the handful of plants in our garden.

I also want cherries, straight from Niagara.

But all I got is apples.

So I made me some Apple Pie Bars and pretended I was eating them in the middle of a blackberry patch on a sunny afternoon.

Have a good week!

Ciao!

Note: For this edition of Magazine Mondays, I finally tried the recipe for Apple Pie Bars from Food & Wine’s March 2008 issue. If you have to eat apples, you might as well dress them up!

Ladies and gentleman, today I have decided to coin a new term.

That term is Bakeanista.

What is a Bakeanista? Well, a Bakeanista is a member of the femal species that would happily forego shopping for shoes, getting her hair done or going for a spa treatment to stay at home watching yeast bloom and covering the kitchen in flour.

You dream of souping up your Kitchen Aid mixer?

Bakeanista.

You get into arguments with people over the quality of flour?

Bakeanista.

You bake and do laundry at the same time?

Bakeanista.

And not only am I going to be so bold as to coin the new term, I’m going tell you who the original Bakeanistas are: Mary of The Sour Dough, Lis of La Mia Cucina, Helene of Tartelette, Kelly of Sass and Veracity, Laura of Laura Rebecca’s Kitchen, Sara of i like to cook and Stephanie of Dispensing Happiness.

So how did the Bakeanistas band together? Well as with all good stories there are many versions and theories and events but let’s just say that in its most current rendition, the Bakeanistas were born when Mary saw this postthis post and decided that the Bakeanistas needed to act.

So she sent out the Bakeanista symbol (no those were not lights from an alien spaceship that you saw in the night sky), organized everyone, provided a recipe and arranged a live baking session via Skype.

If you’ve made any type of bread before or worked with yeast at all, then this recipe couldn’t be simpler. If you haven’t baked bread or are terrified of yeast, this is a great recipe to try.

Really. It’s easy. And the end result is a bubbly mass of cheesy rolls that my family devoured for lunch with a green salad and some freshly sliced prosciutto.

What I lov … oh wait … sorry, folks. I see the Bakeanista symbol flashing again. Somewhere there’s something that needs to be baked!

Ciao!

Here are the Bakeanistas that participated: Helen, Ivonne, Kelly, Laura Rebecca, Lisa, Mary, Sara, and Stephanie

Here’s the recipe we used: Gruyère-Stuffed Crusty Rolls.

Note: I used marbled cheddar in my loaves.

There was a time when nary a butterfuly was seen in these parts.

I think it had a lot to do with the widespread use of pesticides which, thankfully, has been curtailed.

In my opinion, the sight of a butterfly flitting around a garden is surely one of Nature’s most beautiful sights.

So when I opened the book Hello, Cupcake! by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson and saw a baking project involving butterflies resting prettily on cupcakes, I knew I had to to try to recreate them.

I received a copy of this book thanks to a lovely person at Houghton Mifflin Company and I couldn’t have been happier to welcome it into my cookbook family.

This is one of those books that makes you want to take a week off work just so you can spend it in your kitchen building cupcake penguins and aliens, among other things.

Seriously. You have to look at this book!

Divided into chapters that focus on different themes likes April Fool’s or Nightmare Before Thanksgiving, the book has numerous baking projects that all use cupcakes as building blocks. Literally.

A thorough introduction that explains the basics of baking and frosting cupcakes is augmented by lots of colour photos and step-by-step instructions for some of the more involved projects. Don’t be intimidated, however. The book teaches you how to use all sorts of everyday treats to make the most incredible things. For example, you can learn how to make perfect little cabbages out of … cornflakes!

I know. I know. It’s earth-shattering.

I think a huge part of the book’s appeal is that even the most inexperienced baker would have a grand time trying out any of these baking projects. The book closes with a variety of recipes for cupcakes and frosting. While there are recipes that call for baking mixes (I’m not a fan), the book does also offer recipes for entirely homemade cupcakes and frostings. Either way, there are options for those who might normally be intimidated by this sort of thing and those that think, “Make a dog out of cupcakes? Why not?!”

I thought the book was fabulous and am very happy that I had the chance to review it. If you have any budding bakers (young or old) in your life or any cupcake fanatics for that matter, this is a book they’d love.

I made my cupcakes with a very basic chocolate cupcake as the base. I used a vanilla buttercream that I tinted yellow as the frosting and a base for butterflies that I had piped and filled using dark chocolate (for the outline) and coloured candy wafers (for the interior of the butterfly).

Believe me when I say they look more complicated than they are. I followed the book’s template for the outline of the butterfly wings and after getting used to (attempting) to pipe in a straight line, I was able to produce them quickly. I filled the interior of the cupcakes and then used a toothpick to swirl the dark chocolate and pink candy coating together. I let the wings set in the refrigerator before placing them atop the cupcakes.

After seeing all those pretty butterflies on the cupcakes, I can’t wait to see all the pretty butterflies in the garden!

Ciao!

I’ve had Paris on my mind of late.

I suspect part of it is that I recently finished reading this lovely book. Not to mention that I kept seeing this other pretty little tome pop up all over the food blog world (who wouldn’t want to go to Paris after seeing that?).

But part of it also the desire for a bit of escape.

It’s been a tough month and as is often my way, I look to my cookbooks for relief.

This month, my eyes fell on Paris Boulangerie-Patisserie. I’ve had this book for quite awhile and, from time to time, have perused its pages wondering wistfully when I will be able to visit Lenôtre and Dalloyau, among others.

Perhaps soon.

In the meantime, though, I have set my mind to baking.

I am of the belief that the truly simple things are the ones that do your heart good. And while there are those that would argue that butter and sugar may not be the most heart-friendly things in the world, I believe that something that comes out of the warmth of your oven does far more good than bad, no matter what.

I saw a recipe for these lovely jam squares and my heart immediately said, “Make them!”

Faites-les!

Ciao!

Jam Squares
Adapted from Paris Boulangerie-Patisserie by Linda Dannenberg.

Note: The original recipe for these squares is called Carrés aux Framboises (Raspberry Squares). I had to do some work on the dough part of this recipe as I could not get it to come together nicely for me. But after a few tweaks, I ended up with a gorgeous dough that’s a cross between a pie dough and a shortbread dough. You can use any sort of jam to fill the squares.

2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup sliced blanched or natural almonds (the original recipe uses blanched almonds but I used sliced, natural almonds as I preferred the texture)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
2-1/2 sticks (1-1/2 cups) unsalted butter, softened
a glass of ice water (you may need it to moisten the dough)
1 to 1-1/2 cups of thick jam (whatever jam you prefer)
1 large egg, lightly beaten with a tablespoon of water (this is for the egg wash)
coarse sugar (optional)

Place 1 cup of the flour and the 1/2 cup of the almonds in the bowl of the food processor. Process until the almonds are finely chopped and you have a powdery mixture.

Add the remainder of the flour and the sugar to your mixture and pulse several times to combine.

Add the beaten egg, vanilla extract and the softened butter and pulse 15 to 20 times (or until your dough comes together around the blade). If your dough doesn’t come together, drizzle in a few tablespoons of ice water. The dough should come together nicely and should not be powdery or floury.

Turn the dough out onto a clean surface and gather into a disk. Wrap with plastic and refrigerate for half an hour.

While the dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. The original recipe calls for a 10-1/2 x 15-1/2-inch jelly roll pan but you can use any size you have. If you have smaller pans, then make two sets of squares.

When the dough has chilled, divide it in half and roll out the first half into a rectangle that is about an eighth of an inch thick (you can make it slightly thicker). Carefully transfer your rectangle of dough to your lined baking sheet.

Spread the jam over the rolled out dough, leaving a two-inch border all the way around.

Roll out the second half of the dough to a slightly smaller size. Lightly brush egg wash over the border on the first half of the dough and then top with the second piece of rolled out dough. Working from one end, fold the bottom part of the dough up over the top half. Then press down with a fork all the way around to seal the border to ensure that the jam doesn’t escape.

Brush the top of the dough with more egg wash and prick with a fork to create some holes to allow the steam to escape. Sprinkle on coarse sugar if you like.

Bake for 35 minutes. The dough should be golden and baked through.

Remove to a wire rack and allow to cool before slicing into squares.

Enjoy!

It’s been a very long time since I last talked about my mother’s cooking. A very long time!

Truth be told, I could talk about Mama Cream Puff’s cooking everyday. So today, allow me to tell you about my mother’s cannelloni.

What are cannelloni you ask? In our family, cannelloni are plump bundles of meat and ricotta-stuffed crepes. Traditionally, cannelloni are made by filling a pasta sheet and then rolling it into a tube that’s then baked (usually with sauce). In our family, however, we prefer the lighter crepe version.

As with all treasured family food, the emotions evoked by this dish run deep. In fact, I most closely associate cannelloni with my maternal grandmother whose cannelloni were things of beauty. They were somehow both light and substantial and they were perfect every time. In fact, she knew that her cannelloni were my very favourite dish and would often make them just for me. The joys of being the first grandchild!

In the years since my grandmother’s passing, my mother’s cannelloni have taken on a new significance and are as dear to me as my grandmother’s. I’ve always said that my mother is a crepe master. I don’t know anybody that makes a crepe as perfectly as she does.

Her filling is my very favourite one: veal and ricotta. You can fill cannelloni with a multitude of different fillings but that combination is my favourite. Annointed with beatifully red sauce the cannelloni go into the oven to be baked through and come out perfect every time.

And when I eat them, I have the same reaction every time. There is pure satisfaction over the food. More importantly, there is pure comfort because of the memories.

Ciao!

Cannelloni

Note: Once you’re ready to make the filling, it’s good to have a pot of tomato sauce ready to go as you will need it for the filling. You can use your favourite tomato sauce or you can use a family favourite of ours. You can make your cannelloni the day before and refrigerate them or you can make them and freeze them (unbaked) for as long as a month.

For the crepes:

3 large eggs
1 cup milk
¾ cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

In a bowl whisk eggs. Add milk and mix. Gradually add flour and blend until the batter is smooth.

Heat a non-stick frying pan (about 6 inches in diameter) on medium heat. Lightly grease the pan with butter and pour in about ¼ cup batter. Tilt the plan in a circular motion so that batter spreads evenly across the surface of the pan.

Cook for one minute and then flip the crepe over to cook on the other side. Cook for about half a minute longer. Remove the crepe to kitchen towel spread on the counter or a piece of waxed paper spread on the counter.

Once cooled, cooked crepes can be stacked one on top of the other. Crepes can be made the day before and kept well-wrapped.

For the filling:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 heaping tablespoon minced onion
1 pound ground veal
1/3 cup tomato sauce
1 ½ to 2 teaspoons salt
Pinch of freshly cracked black pepper
1 cup ricotta
¾ cup shredded mozzarella
¾ cup Parmiggiano Reggiano cheese
¼ cup Pecorino Romano cheese
¼ cup bread crumbs
1 large egg, lightly beaten

In a large pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and ground veal and brown for about 5 minutes, turning occasionally.

Add the tomato sauce, black pepper and 1 ½ teaspoons salt. Cook for another five minutes. Remove from heat and let cool completely.

Once meat mixture is cool, add ricotta, mozzarella, Parmiggiano Reggiano, Pecorino Romano and bread crumbs, mixing lightly after each addition. Add egg and mix well.

The filling should have a soft consistency so that it can spread easily. Add more bread crumbs if it’s too soft or a little water if it’s too dry. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Place one heaping tablespoon of filling on a crepe. On half the crepe, spread the filling to within an inch of the border. On the other half of the crepe, spread the filling to the edge. The part of the crepe that has the filling spread to the edge will end up as the centre of your crepe.

In other words, when you roll the crepe, begin by rolling the half of the crepe that has filling spread all the way to the edge. As you roll, that part of the crepe will form the centre.

Once all your cannelloni have been rolled, prepare your pan and preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large roasting pan or baking pan (approximately 12 inches x 14 inches), add about 2 cups of tomato sauce. The tomato sauce should not be too thick. Place cannelloni side by side in the pan leaving a tiny space between each cannelloni. Cover with additional tomato sauce (about 1 ½ cups to 2 cups).

Bake the cannelloni for about 1 ½ hours.

Let the cannelloni stand for about 10 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

For this week’s edition of Magazine Mondays, I bestowed the honour of “Chosen Recipe” on one that actually hasn’t been laying around my house for all that long.

Contrary to my culinary penchant for oohing and aahing over recipes in magazines and then letting them sit there for years before trying them, I actually decided to try a recipe from the May 2008 issue of Martha Stewart Living: Fava Bean Salad with Roasted-Garlic Vinaigrette.

Now Martha and I have had our moments. Some good. Some not-so-good. But when I saw this recipe, I just had a feeling that this one would find a home in the “good thing” pile (pardon the expression).

I’m happy to say I was not wrong. Beside the fact that the recipe is healthy (I usually regard this as a perk), it’s colourful and delicious and boasts what is quite possibly the most delicious vinaigrette I have ever made. DELICIOUS, I tell you. And you know the Cream Puff does not use all caps casually!

Ultimately you could make this salad with a variety of beans in the event you can’t find fava beans and while the corn left something to be desired (it’s obviously not corn season in my neck of the woods), overall the salad was bright and immensely satisfying. Please do try it.

Have a wonderful week, everyone!

Ciao!

Recipe: Fava Bean Salad with Roasted-Garlic Vinaigrette.