I have been to many a social gathering that has ended in the adult version of a loot bag. While I like receiving gifts as much as the next person, do I really need another salt-and-pepper shaker set? Not really.

This only makes my purple potato that much more special. Let me tell you a story.

A recent dinner outing with a group of some of the most lovely young ladies around ended when one of these young ladies handed out one purple potato to all of the other young ladies in the group.

This tremendous act of generosity was punctuated by the fact that said purple potatoes came from her own small stash of purple potatoes, taken from the contents of her weekly CSA box (how she came to have the contents of her CSA box whilst at dinner at a very posh Toronto restaurant is a story for another blog post …).

Needless to say it was a most enchanting end to a beautiful, late-summer dinner.

I was instantly smitten with my purple potato. I placed it carefully in my purse and cradled it all the way home.

In time, I came to love my purple potato deeply. I loved it’s deep purpliness. I marvelled at its smooth-yet textured exterior. I carefully explored the surface of my purple potato, memorizing every groove, every line and every mark.

After awhile, though, I began to experience some mild anxiety over my purple potato. I worried that we would be accidentally separated or worse, that my purple potato would be lost.

I fretted that someone might try to steal my purple potato. I became possessive; refusing to show my purple potato to anyone.

One day, in a grocery store, I became terrified that my purple potato would be taken from me. I worried that the store owners might think that I had stolen it. I calmed down when I realized that my purple potato was so unique that everyone would know that it had come from a special place where purple potatoes grace the land like stars in the sky (not the grocery store). The other potatoes in the grocery store hated my potato. I could tell (be jealous, bitches).

The defining moment in our relationship, however, came when I nearly dropped my purse. Realizing that my potato could have been irreparably bruised or even crushed, I knew that it was time for us to take the next step.

It was time for me to eat my purple potato.

After sharing one last quiet moment with my purple potato, I took out my mandoline (no regular knife would do) and transformed my love into a pile of beautiful purple potato slices.

I carefully transferred the slices to a pan of hot oil and fried them until crisp.

After draining the slices, I showered my purple potato with sea salt. I sat down to eat my purple potato with a bowl of garlic and basil yogurt (one of my favourite accompaniments). I used full-fat yogurt and basil from my garden. Only the best for my purple potato.

It was a bittersweet ending to my love story. While it ended the way it should, I do miss my purple potato.

My one and only.

Ciao!

Garlic and Basil Yogurt
Makes 1 cup

Note: This is perfect as a dip or even as a dressing for potato salads. It’ll keep in a sealed container in the refrigerator for several days.

1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 teaspon sea salt
1 garlic clove, minced
4 or 5 basil leaves, torn

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate until ready to use.

It’s December 1st. For Cream Puff, that means Christmas is here.

Christmas in all its glory, all its baking, all its music, all its cheer and all its splendor!

I. LOVE. CHRISTMAS.

Last year, come December, I had so many cookbooks to tell people about that I decided to talk about twelve of them in twelve days and it was a tremendous success.

So this year, I’m doing it again. If you’re looking for the perfect gift to share with the cooking enthusiast in your life, stay tuned to the next twelve days!

On Day 1, I start with a book that has spent the past few months holding the place of honour on my night table: Dorie Greenspan’s Around My French Table: More Than 300 Recipes from My Home to Yours.

The sweetness of her cookbooks is matched only by the sweetness of her person! I had the pleasure of meeting Dorie several years ago and I can tell you that she is a doll. Her latest cookbook is a warm and affectionate look at the delicious French dishes that grace her table.

I’m sure it’s been said many times before by many other people but Dorie’s cookbooks are impeccable and this one is no different.

While it may not exactly fit in a Christmas stocking, it should definitely make an appearance under the tree for the cook in your life!

When I first leafed through the book, the recipe that immediately caught my eye was a recipe for “Anne Leblanc’s Pistachio Avocado”. What caught my eye was the mention of the luxurious oils sold at Huilerie J. Leblanc. When I was in Paris in June, I spent a lovely hour in that story drooling over all the incredible oils. As luck would have it, I came home with a precious bottle of pistachio oil, which just happens to be the star of this dish.

Essentially this is half an avocado sprinkled with lemon juice and sea salt. What makes this dish superb, is the touch of avocado oil that nestles in the avocado cavity.

So simple and so unbelievabley glorious! I think I’ve made this about ten times since receiving the book.

The pistachio oil and the texture and taste of the avocado marry in a way that is sublime.

Try it!

See you tomorrow for Day 2 …

Ciao!

Before I get to these week’s edition of Magazine Mondays, I have some big news about MM for the next few weeks.

I’m going on vacation soon and while I’m gone, MM will be hosted by three long-time contributors: Tia of Buttercream Barbie, Tina of Life in the Slow Lane at Squirrel Head Manor and Janie of Panini Girl.

In the past, the lovely Wandering Coyote of ReTorte has hosted for me when I’ve been away. I decided this time, though, it was time to send MM on the road. Here’s how the schedule will work:

Tia will host on Monday August 23rd (e-mail entries to starrysugar{@}hotmail{dot}com).

Tina will host on Monday August 30th (e-mail entries to hexandkobe{@}yahoo{dot}com).

Janie will host on September 6th (e-mail entries to jtray4{@}mac{dot}com).

If you have an MM entry for any of those weeks, e-mail it to the appropriate hostess and she’ll include you in the round-up.

I’ll be back for Magazine Mondays on October 13th.

As for this week, I must tell you that if you have not picked up the latest issue of Saveur, you simply must do so! The magazine features the cuisine of Greece and there are some incredible recipes including this delicious recipe for Peppers Stuffed with Feta (Piperies Gemistes me Feta).

I cannot tell you how delicious this recipe was! It was a huge hit with everyone and very easy to make. The salty/creamy filling was the perfect foil for the roasted peppers. My mouth is watering just thinking of them. That’s my MM entry for the week.

Here’s who joined me in this week’s edition:

Joanna of Go Ahead and Snicker made Sweet and Sour Pickles from the August 2010 issue of Southern Living.

Melissa of It’s the Way She … made Chocolate Icebox Cake from the August 2010 issue of Real Simple.

Wandering Coyote of ReTorte made Pasta with Shrimp and Cilantro-Lime Pesto from the July 2010 issue of Bon Appétit.

Ranjani of Four Seasons of Food made Green Beans with Mustard Crema from the August 2010 issue of Cooking Light.

Jan from Kitchen Heals Souls made Mussels with Ditalini from Delicious, Volume 7, Issue 5.

Carla of RecipeAddict made Chicken Pot Pie with Chanterelles from the September 2009 issue of Bon Appétit.

Have a great week, everyone!

Ciao!

It is, perhaps, the greatest slap in the face of all.

Just as Summer presents you with a dazzling array of berries and fruits, all of them inspiration for your deepest baking desires, Summer also slaps you in the face with heat and humidity.

The very idea of turning the stove on makes me shudder and that’s saying a lot for a committed home baker such as myself.

It’s just not fair.

For a solid two weeks now, to step outside your front door is to be immediately met with a muggy, heavy, moist and stifling Summer kiss. Shudder.

Central air-conditioning be damned. We live in a small, older home and even with central air, as soon as you turn that oven on, our house is a sauna.

So for two weeks, I have been freezing berries like a madwoman, all the while fuming.

Every single time I hear someone say how much they love the Summer and the heat, I’m pretty much casting eye daggers their way.

What is the point of Summer if you cannot bake and use all the beautiful fruits and vegetables around you?

Sitting and stewing has led to many elaborate revenge fantasies. While I’m still working on that machine that will allow us to skip straight from Spring to Fall, I have settled on something a bit more realistic.

Vichyssoise. Zucchini vichyssoise, to be exact.

I was initiatied into the vichyssoise club several years ago during a leisurely lunch at the home of a family friend. It was a hot (of course) summer day and after the appetizers were cleared away, our hostess pulled out a tall, glass jug from the refrigerator.

The jug appeared to be filled with a thick cream, but I soon discovered that it was a cold potato and leek soup known as vichyssoise. Just before serving, our hostess mixed in a healthy dose of cream and then poured the soup into pretty litle cups.

As I had my first taste of vichyssoise I remember thinking, “This is gold. This must become a part of my life on a regular basis.”

Vichyssoise is very easy to make. Cook down some leeks (or onions) and potatoes with chicken stock. Once it’s all cooked, season to taste and then puree and refrigerate. Just before serving, mix in some cream and then serve with snipped chives for a bit of bite.

From Ina Garten’s Barefoot in Paris, I got the idea of making a zucchini vichyssoise.

Perfect. Now I can thwart summer on two fronts. Not only can I enjoy a delicious cold soup, I can also make another dent in the zucchini mountain growing outside our door.

This soup is so refreshing, it almost makes up for the pain of not being able to bake.

As an added “painkiller” and hopefully another salvo aimed at Summer, I’ve been topping the zucchini vichyssoise with … what else … more zucchini.

These fried zucchini strips are a common side dish in our house. It’s a very fast way to use up some zucchini and I have yet to meet the person that can resist them.

So I bide my time. Summer has to end sooner or later. Cooler temperatures will usher in the days of baking once again.

I just hope the freezer holds out.

Ciao!

Zucchini Slivers

2 zucchini, medium-sized
1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
corn oil or canola oil, for frying
sea salt, to taste

1. Cut the ends off the zucchini and discard. Slice the zucchini into the finest slivers you can by first cutting the zucchini into long, thin slices and then cutting the slices into long, thin slivers. Set aside.

2. In a large frying pan, pour in enough oil to come about an inch up the side of the pan. Heat the oil over medium-high heat.

3. While the oil is heating, place the flour in a large bowl and in several batches, dredge the zucchini slivers in the oil. Once dredged, shake off the excess flour and place the slivers in a plate.

4. Once the oil is hot, fry the slivers in batches. Do not overcrowd the pan. The slivers will fry for about 4 to 5 minutes, at which time they should be golden. Using tongs, turn the slivers so that they become golden and crunchy on all sides.

5. Once golden, remove the zucchini slivers to a plate lined with paper towels. Sprinkle with sea salt right away.

6. Serve the zucchini while hot.

From about September to March, I could pretty much each potatoes every day.

In fact, I could probably eat them two or three times and day and be perfectly happy.

Spud, I adore you!

It’s hard to believe that it’s been almost a year since I first made this recipe, but that is in fact the case. On New Year’s Eve 2008, I made Pan-Roasted Fingerling Potatoes with Pancetta from the December 2008 issue of Food & Wine.

While I didn’t photograph the dish that evening, they were clearly a hit from the beginning and have become one of our favourite ways to prepare potatoes. You can easily halve the recipe and you certainly don’t have to use fingerling potatoes. I often make the dish with Yukon Gold potatoes.

This is my Magazine Mondays submission. As you know, MM is all about getting into the kitchen and finally trying those magazine recipes that you’ve bookmarked. Here’s who’s joining me this week:

Lori of Making it My Own Way Blueberry Crumb Bars from Bon Appétit.

Jennifer of Daydreams of Baking made Macadamia Coconut Meltaways from the November 2009 issue of Women’s Day.

Tia of Buttercream Barbie made Cinnamon-Sugar Pastry Sticks using her favourite all-butter dough from September 2009 issue of Gourmet. Because I missed MM last week, Tia had a second submission which is Oatmeal Honey Bread, also from Gourmet.

Debbie of Taste of Sweet has been a busy girl! She made a Mozzarella Chicken Sandwich from Cooking Light, Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps from Cooking Light, and Bulgogi (Korean Beef BBQ) and Shank Kimchi from Cooking Light.

Wandering Coyote of ReTorte made … yes … from Canadian Living … Chicken Noodle Soup.

Nina from Prêt à Gourmet made Cinnamon Rolls from Issue 31 of Fine Cooking.

Allison of Bake Your Heart Out made Pumpkin, Sage, and Browned-Butter Quick Bread from the November 2009 of Martha Stewart Living. She also made Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Maple-Marshmallow Cream from Bon Appétit.

Janie of Panini Girl made a Stuffed Squash from Gourmet.

Patricia from Brownies for Dinner made Brown Sugar Baked Sweet Potatoes and Acorn Squash from Gourmet.

Jamie of Life’s a Feast made Chocolate Meringue Coffee Cake from an old stack of magazine clippings.

Have a great week, everyone!

Ciao!

Dear Zucchini,

I’m sorry to have to do this to you in such a public manner, but you leave me no choice.

I have tried to let you down gently, but you just don’t seem to be getting the message. At first, I thought that if I just ignored you, you’d understand. But you didn’t.

I tried leaving you in the refrigerator, but you insisted. I withheld water, but you kept coming. I even left you for three whole weeks, without any contact, and still you were there.

I don’t know any other way to do this but to send you this letter in the hopes that you will finally hear what I’m saying:

It’s over.

Yes, it’s true, things were great in the beginning. You were so fresh and green, the only plant thriving in a garden of that had, up until that point, been bare.

You were sweet, Zucchini. You were. You were always waiting for me when I got home from work and on weekends, you filled me.

I don’t deny it.

But Zucchini, you’re too much. You don’t know when to stop. You put too much pressure on me. You, I could handle. But then your family started arriving, and your extended family, and your friends … what was I supposed to do with all of you?

Look, I thought that going to Italy for three weeks would be the answer. I thought that during that time, left alone to your own devices (and no water), you’d understand that you couldn’t crowd my space.

How was I supposed to know that it would rain for the entire summer? How was I supposed to know that while the rest of the garden slowly began its inevitable decline, you would still be inviting your zucchini relatives over? How was I supposed to know you’d live so long?

Please don’t take this the wrong way. I will always think you’re beautiful and there will always be a part of me that loves you.

But right now, it’s all about the tomatoes. They’re plump and juicy.

You’re not.

Goodbye, Zucchini. It was fun while it lasted. Call me next summer. Maybe we can hook up again.

Yours truly,

Cream Puff

Ciao!

Zucchini Cakes
A Cream Puff Original

Makes about 20 little cakes.

Note: The never-ending supply of zucchini has forced us to be most inventive when it comes to ways to cook them. This is a recipe that I came up with that’s always a big hit. The success of this recipe depends on three things: 1) You must squeeze as much water out of the grated zucchini as you can; 2) You must flatten the cakes as they fry so that they crisp up nicely; and 3) You must eat these hot; once they’re cold they lose their appeal. Try making them with yellow zucchini as well!

4 medium zucchini, grated
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup water
2 eggs
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
fresh herbs, finely chopped, such as basil, parsley, mint, etc., to taste
additional salt and pepper

Place the grated zucchini in the middle of a clean dishcloth. Roll the dishcloth up and then twist the ends, squeezing out as much of the water from the zucchini as you can.

Place the zucchini in a large bowl. Add the flour, water and eggs and mix until everything is well combined. Add a handful of fresh herbs (use whatever herbs you like and add as much or as little as you like).

Add the salt and pepper and mix.

In a large frying pan, heat an inch or so of olive oil until hot. Drop large spoonfuls of batter into the pan (don’t overcrowd). Very quickly flatten the drops of batter as much as you can. Flattening the cakes will help them to crisp up nicely.

Fry for two or three minutes and then flip the cakes over and fry for another minute or so.

Remove the cakes to a plate lined with paper towels and then season with additional salt and pepper.

Serve hot!

Enjoy!

As I’ve written previously, I’m just trying to keep it simple these days.

In that vein, I must tell you, there are very few simpler menu items for me, nor more comforting, than a good burger. Add a side of onion rings and I’m pretty much in a state of bliss.

This may sound odd because of course there is a certain amount of work involved. You have to peel and slice the onions and fry them (messily, in my case). And you’ve got to make the hamburger patties and grill them.

And yet, a good burger with something fried on the side just hits the spot.

Of course you can’t go wrong with Bobby Flay’s Burgers, Fries, and Shakes, which has been sitting, all by its lonesome, on my desk for quite some time.

I dusted it off and plunged into the joy of a good burger. Delicious, all the way around.

This is a really, really good book. Straight to the point, meaty (sorry … couldn’t resist) and just happiness-inducing (if you count looking at gorgeous food photos amont the things that make you happy).

Thanks to this worthwhile little book, I made an amazing burger and some pretty amazing onion rings. My only regret is that because I don’t own a blender, I didn’t have the chance to try any of the shakes as it has been a childhood wish of mine to have burgers and fries accompanied by a good ol’ milkshake. I continue to dream.

I must say, keepin’ it simple sure is tasty.

Ciao!

Because it’s the weekend.

Because it ended up being sunny instead of rainy.

Because I can stay up late tonight reading cookbooks.

Because I can sleep in tomorrow.

Because the beautiful Ontario asparagus have arrived.

Just because.

Ciao!

The picture above is of a delicious asparagus and rice soup that I made. I’ll post the recipe once the first blush of love has passed (i.e., in a few days)!

Is there anyone out there that doesn’t like the potato?

Especially when said potato is deep fried and then kissed with a light sprinkling of salt?

Anyone? Anyone?

Honestly, I can’t think of one person I know that would turn down a french fry. Clearly, I know the right people!

Going into the weekend, I’ve had french fries on the brain almost the entire week and this is all Martha’s fault. I blame her. If it wasn’t for Martha Stewart’s Cooking School: Lessons and Recipes for the Home Cook, wherein lies a very clear and thorough guide on how to make a good ol’ honest-to-goodness French fry, I would be thinking about other things.

Such as … opening my mail. Or … buying a new coffee table. Or … whether we need a layer of top soil in the garden. Or … ah, who am I kidding?!

I’d be thinking about food in some form or other and the food of choice this week just happens to be one of the most perfect things in the world: the French fry.

I love fries. Love’em! Growing up, we always had fried potatoes but Mama Cream Puff would cut them into cubes for us (which I also love). And unlike a true French fry, she would fry the potatoes once until deeply golden.

The proper French fry, as Martha so capably demonstrates in her book, is fried twice. It is fried once at a low temperature to cook the inside of the potato (this is called blanching). It is cooked a second time at a considerably higher temperature to crisp up the outside of the potato until a glorious goldenness is achieved.

From that point forward, the French fry becomes the canvas upon which ever person can paint whatever they wish. Some people like to paint the French fry with lots of ketchup. Some people use malt vinegar as their medium. Some people (me!) choose to express themselves with sea salt and rosemary. It doesn’t really matter. Point being, French fries are pretty much awesomeness in every sense of the word.

I would use the same word to describe Martha’s book. No use beating around the bush. It’s good. As some of you may know I sometimes have had issues with some of the recipes in Martha’s magazine. Visually they are promising but often, the end result is just a tad disappointing. But no disappointment with this book.

It is exactly what it promises to be. An excellent manual on how to cook everything. Cream Puff recommends it highly.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some French fries to fry and a masterpiece to follow.

Ciao!

Here’s a photo diary of my French fry adventure:

I used Yukon Gold potatoes.

While I do own a mandoline, I decided to cut the potatoes into fries with a knife.

For the blanching of the potatoes, I heated my oil to 300 degrees F.

I cooked them for about 4 minutes before removing them to a paper-towel lined tray to drain.

I let the oil temperature come up to 350 degrees F. for the second frying.

I cooked the potatoes for about 2 minutes in the hot oil. About 30 seconds before they were done, I threw in a sprig of rosemary. I drained the potatoes on paper towels and immediately sprinkled them very liberally with lots of sea salt (there is nothing worse than an underseasoned potato!).

I ate them all. All of them.

The March 2008 issue of Food & Wine magazine is probably one of the best issues in a long time. I bookmarked numerous recipes, in particular a series of recipes in one of the issue’s features called “How to Cook Like You Own an Italian Villa.” For this edition of Magazine Mondays, I decided to share with you a recipe from that feature called Roasted Cipollini Onions with Sherry Vinegar.

Just one problem, the picture you see above does not feature cipollini onions. When I went to the grocery store, I actually found cipollini and was so excited but in my excitement, I ended up picking pearl onions, instead.

Pearl onions are small, round onions that are perfect for pickling, but can also be used in stews and casseroles. Cipollini, which are also quite small, tend to be flatter and yellower than pearl onions.

In the end, though, it wasn’t such a big deal and I went ahead with the recipe. I’m so glad that I did. These were easy and so delicious. In fact, in the month since I tried this recipe, these roasted onions have become one of our very favourite side dishes.

You can double and triple the recipe and then store the reserves in a jar in the fridge with some added vinegar and they’ll keep for up to a week. We like them warm, but they’re also very good cold in sandwiches. I hope you give them a try.

Once again, there a number of people out there who have been diligently attacking those pesky magazine piles. Here are some fellow Magazine Mondayers:

Georgia of Oh Kitchen, What Won’t You Do? made Curried Eggplant with Tomatoes and Basil from Real Simple.

Elizabeth of thewaspyredhead.com made a Strawberry Layer Cake from Cooking Light and a Couscous Salad from Bon Appétit.

Biz of Biggest Diabetic Loser made the Beer-Battered Onion Rings from Cooks Country.

Debbie of Taste of Sweetness … made Thai Coconut Curry Shrimp from Cooking Light.

Cathy at Noble Pig made some incredible Individual Grape and Vin Santo Cakes from Gourmet.

Alisa of One Frugal Foodie made a Simply Scrumptious Cinnamon-Apple Sauté from Natural Health Magazine.

Tamy of 3 Sides of Crazy made Delicious Fried Chicken.

Mandi of Red Dirt Mummy made a Lamb and Pasta Bake from Good Taste.

Sweet Christie and Ian of Coco Bean have sent along a Mashed Potato Gratin with Caramelized Onions an issue of the LCBO magazine.

Jen of Baking and Dogs made my favourite … Pancakes!

My apologies to Katerina of Culinary Flavors … I somehow missed this entry! It’s a gorgeous Bougatsa with Cream.

One last note before I wish you a great week, people are always asking me about where to get great recipes (besides cookbooks) and of course I’m always happy to help. Your best resource is the Internet and individual magazine sites. I’m sure you all know the usual suspects but one particular site that I’m a big fan of is the Better Homes and Gardens site, which has a very thorough and extensive recipe section. And of course, since you know I loooooooooove my dessert, I have to take a moment to point out their dessert section, which not only includes recipes, but also some very helpful baking tips and hints.

Please remember that if you post a magazine recipe, send me the link and I’ll put it up in my next Magazine Mondays post. You can post any day of the week … it doesn’t have to be a Monday!

And that’s that, my friends. Have a wonderful week!

Ciao!

This isn’t going to be a very lengthy Magazine Mondays post as the Cream Puff is tuckered out! Work is nutty again and I’m beginning to feel like I’m bouncing straight from my bed to my desk and back.

For today’s MM submission, I give you the glorious brussels sprout. I didn’t grow up eating brussels sprouts, in fact I probably tasted them for the first time about ten years ago. But I was hooked as soon as I tried them and simply don’t understand why they’re not the preferred vegetable of more people.

Last year, a good friend invited me over for dinner and one of the dishes she served was Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Lemon and Pistachios from the February 2008 issue of Bon Appétit.

I took one bite of those luscious brussels sprouts leaves drenched in lemon with all these lovely bright pistachios amongst them and I was hooked! Not only is this a fast option for dinner, but it’s delicious with a capital D to the E to the L to the I to the C to the I to the O to the U to the S!

I strongly urge you to try this dish. The Cream Puff has spoken.

As always, I’m joined by a number of other bloggers who have looked at their magazine pile and challenged it to slim down:

My dear Wandering Coyote of ReTorte is sending us Paprika Roast Chicken with Sweet Onion from the February 2009 issue of Gourmet magazine.

Angela at A Spoonful of Sugar has prepared burgers and fries that would rival any diner’s. The recipe is from Irresistible magazine.

Mandi of Red Dirt Mummy participates in her first Magazine Mondays with Baked Chicken Cannelloni from the August 2008 issue of Australian Table.

My sweet Jenny of All Things Edible made some yummy Cinnamon Buns from the February 2007 issue of Fine Cooking.

The lovely Joanne of Frutto della Passione (whom I missed seeing when she was in Toronto) made Fritole Ricche in honour of Carnevale.

So there you have it! Look how many magazines were cleared out in the name of Magazine Mondays! Remember, you don’t have to post your recipe on a Monday to participate. But if you have posted a magazine recipe, just send me the link and I’ll post it!

Have a wonderful week, everyone!

Ciao!

I like to go on and on about my coworkers because they really are wonderful people. The occasional bad day at work is always mitigated by their warmth, friendliness and humour.

The fact that many of them are fabulous cooks and bakers also helps.

One particular coworker is dear to my heart (for many reasons) because of the wonderful stories she has of growing up in a close-knit family where food was at the heart of it all.

On one occasion, we happened to be talking about food traditions and she mentioned her mother’s cabbage rolls.

I am somewhat of a cabbage roll fiend in that I love them and love to hear about them. Strangely, though, we rarely make them in my family. My grandmother would make them from time to time but it’s not a dish in my mother’s repertoire and for some reason, I’ve just never stepped up to the plate (no pun intended) and tried them myself.

Well one thing led to another and before you know it my coworker and I had booked a day for me to travel to her home where she would enlighten me with her family’s recipe for cabbage rolls.

At this point, I feel that I should have paragraphs to share with you about the glory of cabbage rolls and what a life-changing event this was but the fact of the matter is that it was an enjoyable day spent with a lovely friend making comforting cabbage rolls. And that’s about it. I could say more, but that would be like adding too much filling to a cabbage roll: unnecessary.

Instead, I give you a photo journal of the process.

Cabbage Rolls 101

We started off by gathering all the ingredients, which included cabbage, rice, butter, cooked ground meat, onions and eggs (hard to see in the picture but they’re there).

We got to work by adding the eggs to the cooled filling mixture and onions.

In goes the uncooked rice.

With our filling done, we got to work by carefully coring the cabbage.

The cabbage then took a dip in a pot of simmering water.

As the leaves began to soften, we gently separated them from the core.

The separated leaves were transferred to a baking tray to cool and drain.

We carefully removed the top of the thick stem at the base of the cabbage leaves (the part attached to the core.)

We began filling the rolls by placing some of the filling in the top part of the cabbage leaf.

The roll begins by first rolling the uppermost part of the leaf over the filling.

After completing a roll the edges of the leaf are tucked in.

The end result is a tightly rolled, neat looking cabbage roll that’s placed in a baking dish to wait for all its little friends.

All our rolls in a row!

We topped the rolls with tomato sauce and seasoning.

Our rolls went into the oven (covered with foil wrap), where the liquid was absorbed until the rolls were nice and tender and ready to be served.

I want to extend the warmest of thanks to my dear friend and coworker and by extension her mom and sisters who offered much advice and many tips!

Ciao!

Cabbage Rolls
Recipe courtesy of a dear coworker.

Makes between 36 and 40 cabbage rolls.

1 lb ground beef
½ lb ground veal
½ lb ground pork
salt and pepper to taste
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 large eggs
½ cup long grain rice, uncooked
1 to 2 small heads green cabbage (depending on how many cabbage rolls you want to make)
1 16 oz can crushed tomatoes
water (if the tomatoes are not enough to cover your rolls, you can add water)
½ tsp. oregano*

*You can use oregano, basil, paprika, chili pepper or any other spices that you like in the quantity you like.

1. In a large sauté pan, cook the meat over medium heat until browned (there should be no pink visible in the meat). Season the meat with salt and pepper to taste. Drain the meat (it release some juice during cooking) and place in a large bowl to cool slightly.

2. Wipe out the sauté pan and add a few tablespoons of olive oil. Cook the onions on low heat until they are soft and translucent. Let the onions cool and then add to the cooked meat.

3. Add the minced garlic, eggs, uncooked rice and any spices that you’re using to the meat and onion mixture. Mix thoroughly and set aside to cool.

4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two baking dishes (13 x 9-inch or whatever size you have).

5. In a large pot, bring a few inches of water to a boil.

6. Core the cabbage as best you can, being careful not to damage the leaves.

7. Carefully place the cored cabbage in the boiling water. Let the cabbage sit in the boiling water for a few minutes and then, using a sharp knife and a set of tongs, gently cut away each leaf and let it fall in the water as you cut it from the core. (The consistency of the cabbage shouldn’t be too soft or too stiff, but somewhere in between so that you can easily roll the leaves when stuffing them).

8. Once the leaves fall into the water, remove them to a large cookie sheet lined with paper towel to drain.

9. When cabbage has cooled slightly, take a paring knife and remove the thick spine on each cabbage leaf (this is the part of the cabbage leaf that was attached to the core).

10. Place the cabbage leaf flat on a plate or on the counter and put approximately one tablespoon of the meat filling in the centre of the leaf leaf and roll once, forming a tight fold over the filling. Tuck in the sides and then roll the leaf the rest of the way. Place seam side down in a baking dish (we used two 9 x 13-inch pyrex baking dishes).

11. Once all of the rolls have been formed and placed in the dish, cover with the crushed tomatoes and sprinkle on the spices of your choice and bake at 350 degrees F. for approximately 30 minutes. The cabbage rolls are done once most of the liquid has been absorbed and they feel soft when pierced with a fork.

12. Let the cabbage rolls cool slightly before serving.

13. Enjoy!

I have decided that June is going to be an Italian month.

So that would be Giugno.

I have no particular reason for this decision other than the fact that a little over a month ago I purchased this delightful little book by Maxine Clark and fell in love with it.

Seriously in love. In fact I’ve been taking it to bed with me every night for the past week!

One of the recipes that intrigued me as soon as I saw it was one for Devil’s Potatoes. It’s a dish of boiled potatoes drenched in olive oil and flecked with evil hot red chili peppers.

We eat a lot of boiled potatoes with olive oil and salt. In the summer, my mother will often throw in a bit of mint, which is delicious. At this time of year, it’s hard to find red chili peppers that are truly hot. The ones in the supermarket barely pass the spicy test in my family (we are pros when it comes to spicy food). I find we have better luck with jalapenos until we’re able to pick the hot red peppers from our garden (hopefully in another month or so).

I added chopped parsley and mint to the jalapenos, drenched the potatoes in lots of gorgeous extra virgin olive oil and added some sea salt as a final touch.

Delicious!

Enjoy Italian June … I mean Giugno.

Ciao!

Potatoes with Mint, Parsley and Jalapenos
Adapted from Easy Italian: Simple Recipe for Every Occasion by Maxine Clark.

Note: This dish will serve 4 people.

4 large potatoes, boiled with the skins on until cooked through
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (or more depending on your tastes)
2 tbsp. chopped parsley
1 tbsp. chopped mint
1 jalapeno, finely chopped (if you don’t like spicy food then you should seed the jalapeno)
sea salt to taste

Let the boiled potatoes cool for a few minutes before peeling off the skins. Slice the potatoes into thick rounds (at least half an inch) and place rounds in a bowl.

Pour the olive oil over the potatoes. We like our potatoes to be drenched in olive oil so we may use as much as half a cup. How much you use is up to you.

Scatter the chopped mint, parsley and jalapeno over the potatoes. With your hands or with a large spoon, mix thoroughly.

Add salt to taste and serve.

Enjoy!

Talk about coming down from a high! I want to thank everyone for all of your incredible comments and support after my post about the cupcakes I baked for my coworker’s wedding. It was quite an experience and I’m looking forward to where it leads.

As exciting as it was, it was also exhausting. I spent most of Sunday and Monday trying to absorb it all. I couldn’t even begin to think about going back into the kitchen.

But now that it’s all sunk in, it’s time to get back to cooking. For the January 2008 Flavour of the Month, I chose the book Fagioli: The Bean Cuisine of Italy by Judith Barrett as my focus for the month.

When I looked at The Overburdened Bookshelf for this month’s choice, I knew that I wanted this month to be about comfort. I feel the urge for dishes that are slow-cooked and dense. I want to eat foods that stick to your ribs and help keep the cold at bay. I also wanted to finally showcase some recipes from what is a lovely book. As someone who once worked in publishing, I am mightily impressed by books that not only help you to produce beautiful food, but that are works of art in and of themselves. From the cover to the paper to the way the book is printed, it’s an extremely attractive piece of work.

For my first recipe, I couldn’t resist the siren call of chickpeas. I adore chickpeas. Growing up, one of my mother’s quickest and best side dishes on a weeknight was a simple salad of chickpeas and chopped red onions dressed with olive oil and red wine vinegar. Such a versatile food, you can do a million things with chickpeas from adding them to pasta or soup, making dips with them or roasting them for a snack.

I chose to try a recipe for a Whipped Chickpea and Potato Spread. Like my mother’s salad, this was almost ridiculously easy to put together and it vanished in minutes. And while I am not one to focus on the health benefits of food (we’re all adults … we all know what’s good for us), chickpeas are incredibly nutritious which makes this dip all the more attractive.

Enjoy the month of beans!

Ciao!

Whipped Chickpea and Potato Spread
Adapted slightly from Fagioli: The Bean Cuisine of Italy by Judith Barrett.

Note: This makes about 2 cups of spread. Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for a few days.

1 cup chickpeas (you can use canned or you can use dried chickpeas that have been soaked overnight)
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 dried bay leaf
1 medium-sized potato, cut into quarters
one small piece of onion, finely chopped (the truth is you can use as much onion as you like …)
extra virgin olive oil (about half a cup)
salt and pepper to taste

Place the chickpeas, the garlic clove and the bay leaf in a pot and add 5 to 6 cups water. Bring to a boil.

If using chickpeas that were soaked overnight, simmer for one hour. If using canned chickpeas, you can proceed right away to the next step.

Once the chickpeas are tender (after having cooked for an hour if you used dried chickpeas), add the potato and cook for another 20 minutes or until the potato is tender.

Drain the mixture and let sit for about half an hour to cool a bit.

Discard the bay leaf and put everything else (including the chopped onion) into the bowl of a food processor. Process the mixture for about a minute to mash it up.

With the processor running, begin adding the olive oil through the feed tube. Continue adding until the mixture is creamy.

Add salt and pepper to taste and blend to combine.

Spoon the mixture into a bowl and drizzle with a bit of olive oil before serving.

Enjoy!

When I was little, our meals did not often stray from Italian cuisine. That’s not a bad thing, it’s just that at times, my brother and I would wonder what certain foods tasted like. Shepherd’s Pie, for example, fascinated me. And I can still remember watching an episode of Little House on the Prairie and feeling a sharp stab of desire for the family’s chicken dumpling dinner.

Coming home for lunch on schooldays, my mother would sometimes surprise us with something different. Of all the surprises, my favourite was baked beans.

Except I call them Bakedy Beans. I’m not sure when or why I affectionately coined the term Bakedy in reference to these Beans, but sinch childhood, they have been in my top five list of comfort dishes.

Bakedy Beans for Cream Puff. Except today, I’ve made Bakedy Beans for Peabody.

Here are the 10 reasons why I have made Bakedy Beans for Peabody:

1. Her name is Peabody. Isn’t that cute?!

2. She is a hockey fan and I am a hockey fan.

3. When I complain about the Toronto Maple Leafs, she undersands.

4. Peabody is a brilliant baker whose creations frequently (okay, always) make my mouth water.

5. I love her blog.

6. She takes pretty pictures.

7. She’s a Daring Baker.

8. She sent me a special gift recently (can’t reveal the details now).

9. Peabody makes me laugh.

10. She and her husband recently moved into their first home and so she decided to host a Blog Housewarming Party. I think Bakedy Beans are perfect for housewarming parties.

I’m on my way, Peabody. Save me a seat on the couch and make some space on the buffet table for the Bakedy Beans!

Ciao!

Note: While I love to make Bakedy Beans by soaking the beans overnight and then slow-cooking them in a low oven for hours, sometimes I need a quick fix. And this is the perfecti quick fix: Triple-Bean Bake from Epicurious. I’ve been making this one for years. It’s fast and you won’t be disappointed. Enjoy your Bakedy Beans!

Very soon, little ghosts and ghouls will be descending upon us. Mini witches and warlocks will be flitting from house to house in search of candy (and perhaps things more sinister).

It is All Hallows Eve and the winds are blowing, ready for an eerie evening of spooky things.

I am preparing to chain myself to the couch in a vain attempt to avoid the Halloween candy. It’s for the children, as I keep reminding myself (not so successfully thus far). I’ll be watching scary movies all the while hoping that the candy goes quickly, for the sake of my hips and dental bill.

Before I apply the chains, however, I wanted to share this lovely dish with you. To me, October is the month of pumpkin. This month, Mama Cream Puff tried this incredible dish for the first time. It is just the sort of thing to keep the October chills and other spooky things outside, all the while keeping the comfort and cosy inside.

It’s a pumpkin stuffed with onions, mushrooms, goat cheese and the last of our garden’s cherry tomatoes.

Have a truly terrifying Halloween!

Ciao!

Stuffed Pumpkin
Adapted from Pumpkin, Butternut & Squash by Elsa Petersen-Schepelern.

Note: The original recipe is for stuffed small pumpkins so we adapted the recipe based on the size of our pumpkin. We didn’t really measure anything, we just added what we liked.

1 small to medium-sized pumpkin (choose a fleshy pumpkin), with the top removed and the seeds scooped out.
1 large red onion, diced
1 cup chopped mushrooms (any mushroom you like)
goat cheese (we used a whole log of goat cheese), crumbled
2 to 3 cups of cherry tomatoes
fresh herbs (basil and parslety, etc), chopped
salt and pepper
olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large pan, heat some olive oil and add the onion and mushrooms. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes until they have some colour.

Remove the heat and combine with the crumbled goat cheese, the tomatoes and the herbs. Season according to your tastes.

Stuff this mixture into the cavity of the pumpkin. Place the lid on the pumpkin and brush the exterior with olive oil.

Place the pumpkin on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes and test the pumpkin to see if it’s tender. (Do this by piercing the skin with a fork.) If it’s tender, the pumpkin is cooked. If not, continue cooking until done.

Serve the pumpkin by scooping out the filling and cooked flesh.

Enjoy!

Technorati tags: halloween, pumpkin

In deep summer, I go to bed at night dreaming of the dish that I know my mother will soon prepare. Once locally harvested eggplant, red peppers and tomatoes are available, it’s only a matter of time before my mother takes those simple ingredients and turns them into a creamy, colourful dish that to me is summer at its very best: Peperonata.

This brilliant dish is, for me, Italian soul food at its best. All you need is a fork, some crusty bread and a glass of cool wine.

And of course, in my humble opinion, no one makes a better Peperonata than Mama Cream Puff. As a reminder to everyone that the deadline for La Festa al Fresco is this Monday, September 3rd, I give you one of my mother’s best summer dishes.

It is the essence of summer.

Ciao!

La Peperonata
Treasured family recipe.

4 red peppers (we use a type of pepper called Shepperd pepper which is long and narrow - if you can’t find these, use bell peppers)
1 small eggplant
1-1/4 cups crushed tomatoes
4 basil leaves
3 to 4 tbsp. olive oil
3/4 tbsp. salt

Cut peppers into 1-inch strips. (If using bell peppers, cut into 3/4-inch strips). Cut eggplant into 1/2-inch strips.

Heat 3 tbsp. olive oil in a large pan over medium heat and add peppers. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes. (Bell peppers will take a bit longer.) Be sure to stir occasionally.

Add eggplant to cooking peppers. The eggplant will absorb a lot of the oil so add more if you notice that the mixture is too dry.

Cook for an additional 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add half the salt and stir.

Move the pepper and eggplant mixture to one side of the pan so that it is covering about three-quarters of the pan.

To the remaining quarter of the pan, add the crushed tomatoes, the basil and remaining salt. Heat for about 2 minutes and then blend the entire contents of the pan together.

Continue to cook for another 3 to 5 minutes.

Serve warm or at room temperature with lots of bread!

Enjoy!

Technorati tags: peperonata, la festa al fresco

Summer without a vegetable garden is unimagineable to me.

For as far back as I can remember, my summers are dotted with memories of the garden. I can still see my beloved Papu’ (maternal grandfather) with a sprig of basil tucked behind his ear. And I can picture my paternal grandparents preparing to hike up into the hills to tend their plots of land.

Mostly, though, I am filled with memories of my father planting, tilling, watering, tending and watching. I can still remember the watering can he fashioned for me by attaching an old coffee can to the end of a long stick. This enabled me to walk along the high concrete wall bordering one end of our home garden and water all the plants without having to actually step in between them.

I was a girl, after all. As much as I wanted to be in the garden I was all about sugar and spice and everything nice. All those icky bugs were a bit much!

Now that I’m grown, I think nothing of plunging my bare hands into the earth - something I would have NEVER done when I was a younger.

Our home garden is an homage to the farming background of both of my parents. In Italy, the land was the main source of food. The very idea of going to a store to buy your tomatoes or onions must have once seemed so strange to my parents.

Our little garden is a wild place and I love it. Tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, onions, swiss chard, lettuce, lavender, strawberries, sage, mint, cucumbers, rosemary, tarragon and basil are gathered together like an outrageous green family. At times you have to strain to see through it all lest you miss a perfectly ripe tomato, ready to be plucked. The strawberries and the tarragon bush hang over the cracked concrete wall that holds up one side of the raised garden bed. That same side is covered by an old makeshift trellis built by my father, many years ago, as a support for his grape vines. Though they are old, to this day they still spread their leaves along the precarious structure before producing the lovely green grapes that dangle down so tantalizingly.

It’s a jumbled, edible forest and I love it. I cannot imagine my life without it.

For this reason, I chose to feature Viana La Place’s My Italian Garden as the Flavour of the Month for August 2007. While August is already almost half over, it was high time to introduce this book.

It is a gem.

It is a testament to a person’s will to grow fresh food in whatever little corner they inhabit. To read La Place’s account of how she transformed her backyard into a small garden oasis is truly inspiring. And the recipes - oh, the recipes!

While I have yet to try one, I will very soon and of course you shall be the beneficiaries. In the meantime, I decided to use so many of the beautiful zucchini flowers our plants yield to make one of my very favourite summer dishes: ricotta stuffed zucchini flowers.

I hope you all have a garden to love!

Ciao!

I don’t use a recipe to stuff zucchini flowers but if you need one, try this one from Leite’s Culinaria.

Technorati tags: zucchini flowers, ricotta, italian garden

It’s hot in Toronto.

And rainy.

And stormy.

The heat and humidity have come full on and it’s just far too hot to even contemplate turning on the oven and baking. But being closed inside begins to feel a bit like being trapped, so of course I’ve turned to my cookbooks and magazines and am sitting here enjoying them with a coffee.

But just because I can’t bake it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t bake either. I turned to my blog bank (the file of recipes that I’ve tried but haven’t posted yet) and pulled out this little gem.

Asparagus season has been glorious this year and I made these little treats after seeing them in the spring issue of the Donna Hay magazine (Issue #29). These little tarts are very easy to make and would be perfect as an appetizer or even as a main course along side a lovely summer salad.

Basically you’re rolling out some puff pastry, spreading on some ricotta and laying a few asparagus spears over the ricotta. A brief visit to the oven and these babies are ready to go.

If you’re lucky enough to be able to bake today, enjoy! As for me, I’m waiting for the rain to stop so I can hit the lawn chair under the pear tree and suck back a few mojitos!

Ciao!

Asparagus Tarts
From the Donna Hay magazine, Issue #29

puff pastry (enough to roll out to produce at least four rectangles that are roughly 5 x 2 inches at about a 1/4 inch of thickness)
1 cup ricotta
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp. grated lemon zest
1 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano
1 tbsp. chopped basil
1 to 2 bunches asparagus (trimmed and washed - how many asparagus bunches you use will depend on how many spears in each bunch)
extra virgin olive oil

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Roll out the puff pastry and cut out at least four rectangles that are 5 x 2 inches. The puff pastry should be about a 1/4 inch thick. Place the rectangles on the prepared baking sheet.

In a bowl, combine the ricotta, the salt and pepper, the lemon zest, the Parmigiano Reggiano and the basil. Mix well. If the mixture is too thin, add a bit more Parmigiano. It should be thick almost like a cream cheese.

Spread some of the ricotta mixture over each puff pastry rectangle. Leave a border of about half an inch all the way around. Lay two or three asparagus spears over the ricotta. Sprinkle some salt and pepper on the asparagus and drizzle with a bit of olive oil.

Bake in the preheated oven for 12 minutes and check the tarts. The puff pastry should be golden and the asparagus should be soft when pierced. If not, bake for a few more minutes. (When I made these, I used thick asparagus spears so it took about 16 or 17 minutes to bake.)

Remove from the oven and serve immediately. Enjoy!

Technorati tags: asparagus, puff pastry, donna hay

Jamie Oliver is driving me batty! In a totally good way.

As much fun as I’ve been having reading Jamie’s Italy, I’m frustrated by the fact that there are so many recipes I won’t be able to try until the bounty of summer fruits and vegetables begins to find its way into our kitchen.

My mouth is positively watering over dishes like eggplant parmigiana that has me longing for the beautiful purple eggplant from our garden. Unfortunately those won’t be here until August and September so I’ll just  have to bide my time.

But I’m such an impatient Cream Puff! Sigh.

To comfort myself, I decided instead to give myself a little present courtesy of Mr. Oliver. Who doesn’t like unwrapping a gift? The drama, the expectation, the excitement as you slowly reveal what’s hidden inside. As soon as I saw Jamie’s recipe for wild mushrooms roasted in a parchment paper sac, I knew I’d have to give it a try. Especially since I’m always looking for new side dishes to serve with meals.

I love mushrooms and was intrigued by the idea of roasting them in a paper packet. Usually we eat our mushrooms sauteed or grilled. Jamie’s recipe calls for wild mushrooms which are combined with a variety of herbs and prosciutto in a parchment sac. A splash of wine is the final touch before the mushrooms go into the oven.

I used a variety of cremini, shiitake and oyster mushrooms for my attempt at the recipe. I brushed off any dirt and kept the mushrooms whole, except for any that were particularly large, which I cut in half. I combined the mushrooms in a bowl and drizzled on lots of extra virgin olive oil. I added sea salt, black pepper and fresh rosemary. While my paper packet wasn’t nearly as neat-looking as Jamie’s, it certainly did the trick. Just before popping it in the oven, I added a splash of cognac to the mushrooms because I’ve always believed (don’t know why) that mushrooms and cognac go very well together.

After about fifteen minutes in the oven, my parchment packet had puffed up a bit (the hot air is trapped in the sac) and I eagerly opened it up to find a gorgeous melange of mushrooms that were cooked perfectly. The aroma of rosemary and the faint hint of cognac made the dish taste as wonderfully as it looked.

I do believe I’ve found something to keep my mind of eggplant parmigiana … for now.

Ciao!

Roasted Mushrooms with Cognac

Adapted from Jamie’s Italy by Jamie Oliver.

Note:  Parchment paper is available in baking shops and also in the baking section of most grocery stores. In addition (or instead of), you can also use thyme and sage to flavour the mushrooms. 

This recipe will serve 4.

• 1 pound of mixed mushrooms (cremini, oyster, shiitake), cleaned with larger mushrooms cut in half
• 4 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1-1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp. rosemary, chopped
• 2 tbsp. cognac
• chopped parsley for garnish

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Combine your mushrooms in a bowl and add the olive oil, making sure that the mushrooms are evenly coated.
3. Add the salt, pepper and rosemary and mix well.
4. Take one sheet of parchment paper (it should be roughly 18 x 22 inches in size) and place it on a counter.
5. Pile the mushroom mixture in the centre of the parchment, flattening the mushrooms slightly so that they’re not mounded too high in the centre. Drizzle on the cognac.
6. Cover the mushrooms with another sheet of parchment of equal size.
7. Fold all the ends of the parchment up and in so that a tight seal forms on all sides.
8. Slide the parchment package onto a baking sheet and then place in the oven.
9. Bake for 15 minutes and then remove. Open the package (carefully as a lot of steam will be released).
10. Taste the mushrooms and adjust seasoning.
11. Place the mushrooms in a bowl and sprinkle on the parsley before serving.
12. Enjoy!

Technorati tags:  mushrooms, jamie oliver, jamie’s italy

Madames et Messieurs, I bring you shocking news.

Je ne suis pas Cream Puff! I am not Cream Puff!

Ze girl that you know as Cream Puff has gone out of ze house. She has gone to ze … ummm … magasin??? How do you say that in English … oh yes … store. Cream Puff has gone to ze store.

And this is my opportunity! Allow me to introduce myself.

Je suis Monsieur Mandoline. My name is Mr. Mandoline.

I was born in France, to ze family de Buyer. Several years ago, I made my way across ze ocean to a very fancy magasin … I mean store. And there, ze Cream Puff, she found me and brought me to her home.

Au début, j’étais heureux. At first, I was happy. Ze Cream Puff, she was very nice. She used me … in a good way. I sliced ze potatoes and ze onions and ze carrots. Ah oui … j’aime les carottes!

Ze Cream Puff would use me often, and when she was finished, she would wash me and dry me and make sure that I was shiny like new. I had a very special place in ze Cream Puff kitchen.

But then, something terrible happend. Ze maman of Cream Puff, she bought her a food processor for Christmas.

Oh l’horreur!

Ze Cream Puff, she forgot about me. Slowly, slowly … I began to lose my place. At first I went from ze counter to ze cupboard. And then I went to ze cupboard even higher up. And then … on a day most sad … ze Cream Puff she put me in ze wood cabinet in ze basement.

Quelle angoisse! What anguish!

There, in ze wood cabinet, I was forced to live with ze lowly baking pans, ze discarded trays, ze empty Christmas tins and ze other appliances ze Cream Puff forgot.

My days were spent in darkness, as were my nights. Occasionally, ze Cream Puff, she would come and open ze cabinet doors and take me out. But all too rarely!

But today, mes amis, hope has entered my life! Ze Cream Puff, she went out, but she was sloppy. She left ze wooden cabinet door open. My chance had arrived!

Comme une gazelle, I jumped out of ze cabinet and sprinted up ze stairs. I made my way dans la cuisine and before me, on ze kitchen counter, was ze most beautiful butternut squash! I remembered my maman and my papa telling me of ze times that they were used to prepare butternut squash, and how beautiful it was. I longed for this feeling.

Boldly, I took ze squash and made it mine. Quelle merveille! What wonder! Ze golden, silky flesh of ze butternut was ze best medicine against my loneliness. Having sliced ze butternut squash, I remembered ze recipe ze Cream Puff used to make.

I mixed cooked ze onion dans le beurre. I added ze cream and milk. I cooked ze squash in ze mixture for only a little bit. And then I put it in ze oven with goat cheese and walnuts. What a beautiful aroma! Once out of ze oven, I helped myself to a big spoonful. And now, I am sending this gratin to you for ze Weekend Cookbook Challenge #10, hosted by Sara of I Like to Cook (moi aussi!) and Mary of The Sour Dough.

So this is my story, mes amis. For a few short hours, I have tasted freedom again. And it has been magnifique. But soon, ze Cream Puff, she will return. So I must go back to the wooden cupboard. But do not fear, Monsieur Mandoline shall return!

Vive la liberté!

Butternut Squash Gratin with Goat Cheese and Walnuts

Adapted from Gratins by Tina Salter.

• 1 large butternut squash or several small butternut squashes (2 to 3 pounds in total), peeled, seeded and sliced into 1/4-inch thick slices
• 3 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 tsp. sage, finely chopped
• 1-1/2 cups walnuts, roughly chopped
• 4 to 5 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
• 2 tbsp. parsley, finely chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a gratin dish that has a 3-quart capacity. I use a 9 x 13-inch glass baking dish.
2. In a large pan, melt the butter, add the onion and saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for another minute.
3. Add the cream, milk, salt, pepper, nutmeg and sage. Bring to the boil.
4. Lower the heat to medium and add the butternut squash and half the walnuts. Cook for 5 minutes, or until the squash becomes just tender.
5. Place half the butternut squash/walnut mixture in the baking dish. Sprinkle half the crumbled goat cheese on top.
6. Top with the remaining butternut squash/walnut mixture.
7. Sprinkle with the remaining goat cheese.
8. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, or until the squash is completely cooked through.
9. Remove from the oven and let sit on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with the parsley and the remaining walnuts.
10. Enjoy!

Note:  This gratin will serve 6 to 8 people. It’s wonderful for parties. It can be made ahead of time and then reheated.

Technorati tags:  butternut squash, gratin, mandoline, weekend cookbook challenge

I’d like to thank all of you for your birthday wishes. I had a wonderful day and was thrilled that you enjoyed the White Chocolate-Raspberry Tart. I was hesitant to post about my birthday as I felt it might be a bit over-the-top. But I couldn’t resist sharing my special tart for my special day. So once again, I thank you.

Before I get into the business of this post, I wanted to send a reminder, on behalf of my dear friend Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Sensual Gourmet, regarding the second Canadian Blogging by Post. If you blog and you live in Canada, I urge you to participate as it’s a wonderful way to meet fellow bloggers in this beautiful land of ours. The details are all here, but the deadline is fast-approaching so be sure to sign up.

And now for the business at hand.

I spend quite a bit of time reading all the incredible food blogs out there. I do this partly for entertainment, partly for inspiration and partly for the sheer love of food. I am consistently amazed at how creative and brilliant you all are. I  have a pile of recipes clipped from your blogs to prove it.

But every once and awhile, I will happen upon a post that for one reason or another touches me deeply. I had this very experience when I came across Orchidea’s post about Minestra di Riso e Latte (Rice Soup with Milk). If you don’t know who Orchidea is, she is the creative force behind the beautiful Viaggi e Sapori. Orchidea is Italian, but she lives in Stockholm, Sweden. I haven’t "known" her for very long, but in the time that I have known her I’ve been impressed by her charm, her writing, her photography and most of all her cooking.

Her recipe for Minestra di Riso e Latte, in particular, captured my fancy. It’s very similar to a dish that I had often as a child. While I have no clear recollections of my mother making this for me, I do remember my dear Nonna preparing it for me often. She would add a bit of butter and parmigiano to boiled rice, with some of the cooking water added in. It produced a creamy, buttery and cheesy dish that was a bit more soupy than risotto, but comforting to the very core.

My maternal grandmother, my Nonna, was a huge force in my life. When my mother went back to work after my birth, the commute that both my parents faced was long. By the time they picked me up after work and drove home, they realized they were spending very little time with me. They made the decision to have my Nonna take care of me during the week. On Friday evenings they would pick me up and they would then drop me off again on Sunday nights.

This may sound like a strange arrangement to some, but in our Italian background grandparents are very often the primary caregivers for young children. So until the age of two, I spent my weeks happily in the care of my Nonna. While I undoubtedly missed my parents, I could not have had a better guiding hand for those formative years.

Seeing the picture of Orchidea’s Minestra di Riso e Latte opened the memory floodgates and I recalled the happy times that I spent with my Nonna, and of course, the incredible food she made for me. Her food was simple, brave, uncomplicated, pure, flavourful and honest. Today it would probably be described as "rustic." But to her, it was simply the best food to put on the table to feed her children and grandchildren.

The memory of her rice with butter and parmigiano transported me instantly to the beauty of her kitchen. I remember the warmth, the comforting aroma of her cooking and the sound of her voice. And those memories are so deeply comforting … just like soupy rice with butter and parmigiano.

I was reminiscing about my Nonna’s cooking in the days after reading Orchidea’s post, when I had an idea. I approached her with a suggestion for a one-off event, about the dishes of our childhood that comforted us then, and continue to comfort us now.

I realize that there are a number of events constantly being planned in this Blog Universe, but Orchidea and I thought it might be special to stop for a moment, reflect and post about that special dish, from our youth, that meant so much. We ask that you share your special memory with everyone by November 15th. Be sure to e-mail Orchidea at viaggiesapori@yahoo.it or me at ivonne@creampuffsinvenice.ca. We will post a round-up on the 16th or 17th of November. Be sure to use the Technorati tag "Dishes of Comfort" and feel free to post your photos to the Flickr Group, "Picturing Dishes of Comfort."

As for the dish that you see at the top of this page, like my grandmother’s rice dish, le patatine fritte (small fried potatoes) are one of those childhood joys. My mother had no trouble whatsoever getting us to the table whenever a plateful of these golden, crispy delights appeared.

While the type of potato used depended entirely on whatever we had in the pantry, they were always made the same way. Cut into small cubes, they were fried in a mixture of vegetable oil and olive oil until they were deeply golden. As soon as they were removed from the pan, they were showered in salt. What pleasure they would bring!

When I visited Italy in 2003, I had the pleasure of spending time with some friends of my father. As I sat in their kitchen and chatted with them, I noted that they were preparing patattine fritte for lunch. And to my delight, they added a sprig of rosemary to the frying potatoes. The aroma was heavenly. Ever since then, I have done the same. No matter what is going on in our lives, this dish is always a very special treat.

So I leave you with these patatine fritte and with the following question:  what is your childhood comfort dish?

Ciao!

Le Patatine Fritte

Treasured family recipe.

• 4 potatoes, medium to large-sized, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• (1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 large sprig rosemary
• salt (to taste)

1. In a large saute pan, heat the vegetable oil and olive oil. The oil is ready when you drop in a potato cube and it immediately begins to sizzle.
2. Carefully add your potatoes in an even layer. Resist the urge to move them around. Leave the potatoes to fry for 5 minutes.
3. After 5 minutes, carefully flip the potatoes and fry for another 5 minutes.
4. Once again, flip the potatoes and let them fry for another 3 to 4 minutes. At this point, begin to flip them every 3 to 4 minutes until they are golden.
5. At this point, add the rosemary sprig and fry for another 2 to 3 minutes.
6. As soon as the potatoes are deeply golden and the rosemary begins to turn golden, remove the potatoes and place then on a platter lined with paper towel.
7. Immediately salt the potatoes and rosemary. Let them sit for 2 to 3 minutes.
8. Transfer the potato and rosemary to a serving plate and commence fighting with everyone at the table over who gets the most potatoes.
9. Enjoy!

Note:  This recipe will serve 4. The guideline we use in terms of serving size is that we use one potato per person at the table. We like to use sea salt on these potatoes.

*A special thanks to Miria who corrected my spelling on patatine (not patattine). I can’t believe I made that mistake!!! Gee I hope my Italian professors weren’t reading …

Technorati tags:  potatoes, fried potatoes, rosemary, comfort food, dishes of comfort, canadian blogging by post

It’s time for a quick reminder for La Festa al Fresco being hosted by yours truly and the lovely Lis of La Mia Cucina. As you may recall, Lis and I need your assistance to fill our table with as much incredible food as possible. The only stipulation is that you bring a dish that features a fresh summer ingredient. It doesn’t have to be an Italian dish. Just be sure to e-mail us the link to your post before September 5th, 2006. You can e-mail Lis at lamiacucina67@gmail.com or you can e-mail me at ivonne@creampuffsinvenice.ca.

I wanted to take this opportunity to share a dish with you that was provided by a dear reader of mine, Diane. While Diane doesn’t have her own blog (I think she should), she’s been kind enough to share a treasured recipe that was taught to her by a Sardinian gentleman named Aldo, hence the name, Le Melanzane d’Aldo (in Italian eggplant is "melanzana" in the singular and "melanzane" in the plural).

Here in Ontario, eggplant season has arrived. We have four plants of our own that have been gracing us with a number of beautiful little purple eggplants which my mother has been using for pepperonata or for her stuffed eggplant. So this is definitely the time to make this dish. While it cooked, you could smell the aroma of roasting eggplant, bell peppers and garlic throughout the kitchen. It was delightful. We enjoyed the dish as a main course accompanied by crusty bread, hunks of parmigiano and lots of hearty red wine.

Diane, thank you so much for offering this dish to us for La Festa al Fresco!

Ciao!

Melanzane d’Aldo

Recipe courtesy of Diane.

• 1 large American eggplant (or 3 Italian eggplants)
• 2 green bell peppers
• 1 red bell pepper
• 2-3 large cloves of garlic
• ½ cup fruity olive oil
• Sea salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Cut the eggplant into ½-inch cubes. Cut the bell peppers into ½-inch squares. Mix them in a large ceramic bowl. 
3. Add 2 to 3 cloves of finely minced garlic and the finely chopped Italian parsley. Stir in 1 teaspoon of sea salt. Then add the olive oil and mix together with a large spoon.
4. Bake uncovered in the oven for 45 to 60 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. The eggplant should be tender, but not mushy.
5. Once the eggplant is tender, remove the bowl from the oven and allow to cool, stirring twice during the cooling. Once the dish is cool, taste test to determine if more salt is required.
6. With a slotted spoon, place the eggplant in a ceramic serving dish or pie plate. Garnish with parsley. Serve at room temperature.
7. Enjoy!

Note:  Diane recommends that leftovers be mixed with cooked fusilli pasta and a bit of pesto sauce for a wonderful side dish. Diane also suggests adding chile flakes to the dish if you prefer a spicier taste.

Technorati tags:  eggplant, la festa al fresco

As you can tell from the lasagna of a few posts ago and now this dish, my mother has been busy cooking of late. It’s not that we’ve got her chained to the stove or anything, it’s just that this time of year is the showcase for so many of her very best recipes. Garden fresh tomatoes make the best puree for her lasagna and now, the pint-sized eggplant making their first appearances of the summer are perfect for a much-loved family dish:  stuffed and fried eggplant.

Like so many of our treasured family recipes, my mother learned to make this from her own mother. My grandmother’s stuffed eggplant were legendary and I am so happy that I had the opportunity to watch her prepare them many times. Too often, especially when we’re young, we tend to ignore the rituals of the kitchen and as a result, watch helplessly as so many precious culinary traditions fall by the wayside. Happily, this will not happen with stuffed eggplant!

As with all traditional family dishes, this isn’t exactly a snap to make but believe me when I say the time and effort are worth it. The ingredients are very simple. You start with beautifully purple-skinned baby eggplant that are sliced in half and boiled until the flesh is soft. Once the eggplant have cooled, the flesh is carefully removed from the skin so as to leave the skin intact. To the flesh of those eggplant is added cheese, breadcrumbs, egg, parsley, garlic, salt and pepper. The flesh is then stuffed back into the eggplant skins and the entire lot is fried. I dare you not to eat more than one!

When choosing the eggplant for this dish, be sure to choose ones that are firm, purple and without marks on the skin. The eggplant should be about 5 to 6 inches in length. A useful tip that we’ve picked up from Alice Waters’ incredibly helpful Chez Panisse Vegetables is that eggplant should not be refrigerated (something we used to do all the time). Waters recommends keeping eggplant in a cool place in the house if you’re not going to use them right away. The practice of salting eggplant to draw out bitterness is not necessary here.

My mother made a huge batch of these for a recent family party and they were gone in minutes. We sometimes wonder if it’s worth all the work when the end result is devoured so quickly. But when we think about the continuation of this family dish and how much pleasure it brings to all of us, the efforts are so worth it!

Ciao!

Stuffed Eggplant

Treasured family recipe.

• 8 small eggplant
• 1 large eggplant (the flesh of this eggplant is added to the flesh of the small eggplant)
• 1 cup unseasoned breadcrumbs
• 1-1/2 cups Crotonese cheese, freshly grated
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
• 2-1/2 teaspoons salt
• vegetable oil

1. Wash and dry eggplant. Cut in half lengthwise and place in a large pot. Fill the pot with cold water (the water should cover the eggplant) and bring to a boil.
2. Once the water boils, lower the heat to medium and cook the eggplant for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, test that the eggplant are done by removing one and with a fork, see if the flesh separates easily from the skin. If so, the eggplant are ready. Remove from the heat and add cold water to stop the cooking process.
3. Carefully drain the eggplant and leave in a colander until the eggplant are cool enough to handle.
4. Once they have cooled, carefully remove all of the flesh from the eggplant skin, being sure not to tear the skin. Put the eggplant flesh in a colander to drain and place the skins, cut side down, in one layer on paper towels to drain and dry.
5. After 30 minutes, take the eggplant flesh and squeeze out any excess liquid.
6. Place the flesh on a cutting board and with a knife, roughly chop the flesh until it’s been chopped into very small pieces. Place the flesh in a large bowl.
7. To the bowl, add the breadcrumbs, cheese, eggs, parsley, garlic, pepper and salt. Mix until thoroughly combined. Taste a bit of the mixture and adjust the seasoning according to your own tastes.
8. Turn the eggplant skins so that the cut side is facing up. With a spoon, measure out a few scoopfuls of flesh into each eggplant skin. This is a way to ensure that the flesh is evenly divided between the skins before you stuff them. Once this is done, you can begin fashioning the stuffed eggplant.
9. Pick up each skin and smooth out the flesh so that it fully fills each eggplant skin.
10. In a large frying pan, add the vegetable oil until it comes an inch up the side of the pan. Heat the oil. Once it’s hot, add 4 eggplant, stuffed side down and fry until golden. This should take 4 to 5 minutes. Turn the eggplant and fry for an additional 2 to 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Repeat with the the remaining eggplant until they’re all fried.
11. Arrange the eggplant on a platter and sprinkle with some Crotonese before serving.
12. Enjoy!

Note:  This recipe will yield 16 stuffed eggplant halves. Crotonese is a pungent cheese made of sheep’s milk. It comes from the town of Crotone in Calabria. The Crotonese’s strong flavour compliments the eggplant very well.

Technorati tags:  eggplant, crotonese cheese

I’ve been having such tremendous fun baking this month that I’ve neglected to post about my efforts with the May Eat Local Challenge. Lest you think I’ve been failing the challenge, I thought it was time to write a bit about my adventures in local eating.

One of the first foods that I focused on this month was asparagus. Volumes have been written about this elegant vegetable so I won’t bore you with yet another synopsis of the history and origin of asparagus. Suffice it to say that asparagus officinalis are the shoots of a perennial plant. Most asparagus that we see in markets here in North America are green in colour. I used to think that white asparagus was a different type of asparagus but this is incorrect. White asparagus has simply been grown in banks of earth so as not to be exposed to sunlight. This prevents the spears from turning green.

While spring is asparagus season, I will admit that the vegetable appears on our dinner table throughout the year. And to be even more honest, I’ve never paid particular attention to where this asparagus is coming from or how it was grown. Now that I’ve had the opportunity to partake of fresh Ontario asparagus, I will think twice before buying those bland, tasteless bunches of asparagus that appear in the grocery store in December.

Because we eat asparagus often, I wanted to try some recipes that were new to my family. We’re used to asparagus risotto and roasted asparagus. Instead, I decided to finally give white asparagus a sampling. I chose a recipe that was quick to prepare, had few ingredients and that would allow the flavour of the asparagus to be shine through. I settled on a recipe for Fusilli with White Asparagus, Brown Butter, Parmesan and Red Pepper Flakes.

Several people warned me that white asparagus would be tough and bitter. Nothing could be further from the truth. After peeling and blanching the white asparagus for a few minutes, I found it to be tender and slightly sweeter than green asparagus. The browned butter and a sprinkling of parmesan were the perfect foils to the white asparagus which married well with those ingredients. I added some red pepper flakes for colour and spiciness. This was a wonderful pasta that I will definitely make again.

For the next asparagus dish I returned to the more familiar green asparagus. While I contemplated making asparagus soup, I instead opted for a dish I’d tried once before, several years ago … Fettuccine with Asparagus Ribbons. This recipe calls for the asparagus spears to be peeled into ribbons with a vegetable peeler. The pasta sauce is made with cream, lemon juice and lemon zest. It’s another quick pasta dish that’s also very elegant … perfect for a dinner party.

What a difference fresh, local asparagus makes! Both pasta dishes were fantastic and I will be making them again to take full advantage of Ontario’s asparagus season. I’m still going to try asparagus soup and a few other asparagus dishes I’ve come across. For now, however, I’m happy with my pasta dishes. I hope that you will give them a try and discover the joy of fresh, locally grown asparagus.

Ciao!

Fusilli with White Asparagus, Brown Butter, Parmesan and Red Pepper Flakes

Adapted from Chez Panisse Pasta, Pizza & Calzone by Alice Waters.

• Fusilli for 4 people
• 1-1/2 pounds white asparagus
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan
• salt and pepper

1. Peel the asparagus and blanch in boiling, salted water until tender, about 5 to 6 minutes. Let the asparagus cool and then cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Set aside.
2. In a large skillet, heat the butter until it begins to turn golden brown. As soon as it begins to change colour, remove from the heat.
3. Add the asparagus and red pepper flakes to the browned butter and set aside.
4. Cook the fusilli according to package directions.
5. Add the cooked fusilli to the butter and asparagus and heat gently for a minute or two. Add the parmesan and mix well.
6. Serve immediately.
7. Enjoy!

Fettuccine with Asparagus Ribbons

Recipe from www.marthastewart.com. Click here for the recipe.

Note:  The Fusilli with White Asparagus, Brown Butter, Parmesan and Red Pepper Flakes will serve 4. The Fettucine with Asparagus Ribbons will serve 4-6.

Visit the Ontario Asparagus Growers’ Marketing Board for more information about asparagus, as well as some very enticing recipes.

If you have a moment, read the article "Why Things End Badly With Asparagus" published in The Toronto Star on May 14, 2006. The article was written by Kenneth Kidd. You may discover that you’re related to Babe Ruth …

Technorati tags:  pasta, asparagus, eat local challenge, asparagus aspirations

I could not possibly have let April go by without sharing this lemony recipe with you. This is one that will become a classic in your repertoire. Trust me. Easy, yet so delicious, this dish is perfect for a small dinner or for a huge gathering. The recipe can be halved or doubled easily (or tripled … believe me I’ve done it).

I’m willing to bet that you have all of the ingredients in your pantry right now. It takes ten minutes to pull together and about an hour in the oven. This dish goes perfectly with meat, poultry and fish, or you can enjoy it on its own (as I have) with some fresh, crusty bread.

What starts off as raw potatoes in a pan full of water ends up as a dish of luscious lemony potatoes lounging in a bath of the most divine lemon sauce you will ever taste. And if that isn’t enough to convince you, then try to imagine the aroma that will fill your home. It starts off with the faint scent of potatoes beginning to roast. Very soon the potato aroma is joined by the unmistakably crisp and bright scent of lemon. And for the finish comes the oregano, which releases its herby scent as it heats up.

Still not sure? Ok … well then just imagine what it looks like when you take it out of the oven. Golden potato spears flecked with oregano and surrounded by the deep yellow of lemon that has intensified in the oven.

So what are you doing still sitting in front of your computer reading this?! Go make yourself some lemony potatoes!

Ciao!

Lemon Roasted Potatoes

Adapted from Cook This by Amy Rosen.

• 8 Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• the juice of 3 lemons (1/2 cup to 2/3 cup)
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 3 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1-1/2 teaspoons sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 cup water

1. Preheat the oven to 45o degrees F.
2. In a large ovenproof dish, combine all the ingredient, except the water.
3. Once everything is well-combined, pour the water over the potatoes.
4. Bake, uncovered, for 50 minutes to an hour. Turn the potatoes every once and awhile.
5. The potatoes are done when they’re golden and crispy on the outside but soft on the inside (you should be able to pierce them easily with a fork).
6. Enjoy!

Note:  This recipe serves 8, however, it can easily be halved to serve 4. Don’t use small potatoes as they may fall apart.

Technorati tags:  potatoes, lemon

I wasn’t planning on posting this evening, but I had no choice. I am enjoying Lemon Zest so much and I realized that I don’t have many days left in April to post about this cookbook. Having prepared a dish that features one of the vegetable loves of my life, I just had to come and share with all of you.

But before I jump into my ode to artichokes, I just want to take the opportunity to bring to your attention an exciting event that’s happening in May. If you haven’t already heard about it, Life Begins at 30 is challenging everyone to eat locally during the month of May. I first heard about this challenge on Raspberry Sour’s blog The Sour Patch. I very brashly declared that I would take up the challenge and only eat local foods.

Then I remembered that I live in Canada and it’s not uncommon for us to have snow well into April! Luckily spring has already graced us with her presence, but still, it’s not like we’ve got an enormous selection of produce to choose from. So I’ve decided that while I may not be able to eat only local foods in May, I will certainly try my best and I hope that wherever you are, you’ll take up the challenge as well.

And now back to our regularly scheduled programming …

I have always been in love with artichokes (in Italian i carciofi). From the time I was a little girl trying desperately to get in the middle of my mother’s daily cooking routine, I have loved artichokes. Why do I love them so? I think it’s a combination of the colour, the shape and the flavour. This is why I was so upset when we couldn’t find baby artichokes for our Easter lunch. Traditionally, we serve fried baby artichokes as an accompaniment to the roast leg of lamb and the fried lamb chops (more on this in another post). But this year it was not to be and I was so very disappointed.

As explained by Alice Waters in her incredible book Chez Panisse Vegetables, artichokes are actually the edible flower of a plant (thistle). Artichokes are widely used in Italy and so Italians have become quite expert at cooking with them. In fact, artichokes were introduced to North America by Italians who settled in California. Waters explains that artichokes have two main growing seasons:  the spring and the fall. So we should all be looking for some fresh artichokes in our markets.

Since I was denied my fried artichokes on Easter Sunday, I’ve been craving them since. And I thought it would be a wonderful idea if I spent the last day of my mini-holiday (back to work tomorrow) enjoying some artichokes. I already knew what recipe I wanted to try. It’s from Lori Longbotham’s Lemon Zest and it’s a recipe for roasted artichokes.

Many people are intimidated by artichokes because of the perceived difficulty in cleaning them. In fact, once you get the hang of it cleaning artichokes isn’t that difficult. It helps if you have the following supplies:  a serrated knife, a paring knife, a good pair of kitchen shears and a big bowl of water with lemon in it.

To clean an artichoke, simply tear off the outside leaves that are usually too hard to eat. With the serrated knife, cut the artichoke down the middle lengthwise. Take the kitchen shears and snip off the ends of the outer artichoke leaves, especially if they’re thorny. With the paring knife or with a spoon, scoop out the fuzzy bit at the centre of the artichoke known as the choke. Use the paring knife to pare away the outer layer of the bottom of the artichoke and the stem (if using large artichokes the outer layer can be tough). Immediately drop the artichoke in the lemon water to prevent it turning brown.

This is the method we use at home and it always works. Of course if you’re lucky enough to have fresh baby artichokes, you’ll find that you don’t need to trim away as many leaves as they will be far more tender.

Having cleaned my artichokes, I used the Lemon Oil that I’d made earlier this month, as well as sliced lemons and garlic. I mixed everything in a baking dish and then baked the artichokes for 45 to 50 minutes in a hot oven. I let the artichokes cool to room temperature and decided to take the opportunity to try out another Lemon Zest recipe:  Creamy Lemon Vinaigrette. I used the vinaigrette as a dressing for the artichokes.

Fantastic! The vinaigrette complimented the artichokes so well and the best part is that I have lots of vinaigrette left for salad. As for the artichokes … not a single one left.

I got my artichoke fix and I am once again a happy girl. Isn’t vegetable love glorious!

Ciao!

Roasted Artichokes with Lemon

Adapted from Lemon Zest by Lori Longbotham.

• 3 large artichokes
• 1/4 cup Lemon Oil (or olive oil)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• pinch of freshly ground pepper
• 6-8 lemon slices, seeds removed
• 3 garlic cloves, sliced in half
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Clean and quarter the artichokes. Remember to put them in a blow of water with lemon as you clean them. Rinse the artichokes once you’re done and pat them dry.
3. In a glass baking dish (9 x 13), pour the lemon oil and stir in the salt and pepper. Take each artichoke quarter and roll it in the oil to coat. Arrange the lemon slices in the baking dish and top with a garlic half. Lay the artichokes over the layer of lemons and garlic.
4. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and roast for 45 minutes, or until you can pierce the artichokes with a knife or fork.
5. Remove from the oven and transfer the artichokes to a plate. Add the lemon juice to the liquid in the baking dish. Mix well and then spoon over the artichokes. If you are going to serve the artichokes with the vinaigrette (recipe follows), you can skip this step.
6. Enjoy!

Creamy Lemon Vinaigrette

Adapted from Lemon Zest by Lori Longbotham.

• 1/4 cup crème fraîche or sour cream
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper (use white pepper if you have it)
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon Lemon Oil or olive oil

1. Whisk together the crème fraîche, shallot, zest, lemon juice, mustard, salt and pepper in a small bowl.
2. Slowly add the olive oil in a steady stream, whisking constantly. The vinaigrette should be smooth and well combined. Use with your favourite salad or on vegetables.
3. Enjoy!

Note:  The artichokes serve 6 people and should be eaten warm or at room temperature. The vinaigrette recipe will yield about a cup. Extra vinaigrette should be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Technorati tags:  artichokes, lemons, vinaigrette