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“If you want to look at why people are fat today, it’s pretty hard to identify a contributor more significant than this meteoric rise in cheese consumption." - Physicians for Responsible Medicine.
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See the cheese in Antonio's window in downtwon Amherst!! See the cheese sprinkles on the all veggie no cheese!! Oh, yummy.Mix it all together in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Let it rise for 12-18 hours at approximately 70F. Gently scrape dough from bowl onto floured surface and into a ball. Cut into two pieces. Cover again and let sit for another two hours. Dough is ready.
Pizza forming techniques: Google "pizza acrobatics" and "pizza world championships" for hints. Techniques are similar to strudel making. My pizza dough was nearly edgeless and had see through thinness. Pizza topping order: simple puree sauce, spices, vegs etc, and cheese.
Preheat oven and pizza stone at 450F. Transfer pizza to hot stone, leave until top looks bubbly and crust edges are brown. Cool, cut, eat.
Variation 1. Rosemary, sauce, fresh tomato, fresh onion, artichokes, ricotta with thyme and salt.
From Cucina del Sole (2007) by Nancy Harmon Jenkins, this is the English description of Pina's scaccia which I first tasted Christmas 1999, and which is illustrated in the Italian Antiche Ricette (2003), a local cookbook from Ragusa. Pina does a broccoli variation. Its like having a lasagna that you can hold in your hand.
Jenkins:
"This is probably the most unusual focaccia of all, made up of layers of dough rolled out till almost as thin as fil; the difference howeve is that this is a yeasted dough, so it rises and puff in a way that filo never does. It comes from Ragusa, a hill town in the southeastern corner of Sicily. Ragusano cooks who fire thier old-fashioned masonry ovens with olive branches or almon shells, say its the finest way to show off Ragusa's prized caciocavallo cheese, called ragusano and made from the milk of the local dark-brown modicana cows.....for the most authentic flavor you will definitely want a cow's milk cheese, preferably made from raw milk and aged for a couple of months at least.
First make the dough: mix the yeast with 1cup of ver warm water and set asside until the yeast is fully dissoved. Add 1 cup of semolina to a large bowl and pour in the yeast mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon to mix well, but don't worry if the mixture is a little lumpy and looks more like a porridge than bread dough. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 2 hours to fement and develop.
When the surface of the starter dough is puffy and bubbly, add about a tablespoon of salt to 1/2 cup of very warm water and set aside to dissolve. Stir the remaining 2 cups of semolina into the starter dough, then add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and mix well. [GBR: note this ends up with a 2:1 proportion of flour to water, same as NYT bread recipe]. Add the salted water a little at a time stirring it well after each addition. You may not need to use all of it -- much depends on the humidity of the room in which you are working. Stir the water in with a wooden spoon, then with your hands. Finally, when you can handle the dough easily, spread 1/3 cup of all purpose flour on a bread board and turn the dough out. Knead for 5-10 minutes, or until the dough is soft and elastic and has lost much of its stickiness.
Rinse the bowl and dry it, then sprinkle a few drops of olive oil in the bottom. Add the dough to the bowl, turning it to cover with olive oil, then cover with plastic wrap and set aside to develop for 2-4 hours, or until doubled.
While the dough is rising, use either a vegetable peeler to shave the ragusano cheese into flakes or use the largest holes of a box grater. Set aside.
When ready to make the focaccia, separate the dough into 3 equal pieces. Coat the bottom of a baking sheet that will hold all three foccace with olive oil. Have ready the tomato sauce, cheeses, pepper and basil. Spread a layer of semolina onto the bread board and roll the dough out tith a rolling pin to make a big oval a good 14 to 16 inches long and 10 inches wide. Roll the dough as thin as you possibly can -- less than 1/16th of an inch is ideal. Working quickly, spread a good 1/4 cup of the tomato saus ove the surface of the oval, then lay a handful of the shaved cheese down the middle and sprinkle with some of the grated cheese. Layer the basil leaves ove the tomato sauce or sprinkle with oregano.Grind pepper over all.
Fold the long left side of the oval in over the center of the dough, then fold the right side in on top of it, as if you were folding a letter. You will have a long rectangle. Paint the top surface with about 2 tablespoons of tomato sauce and scatter a little more grated cheese over it. Now fold the bottom of the rectangle to cover the middle part of the dough and, again, smooth a little tomato sauce and grated cheese on top. Then fold down the top of the rectangle to cover the sauce. At this point you will have a thick portfolio or envelope made of layer of dough, tomato sauce, and cheese. Transfer the portfolio to the oiled sheet and continue assembling the remaining pieces of dough.
When all the dough has been shaped, dribble or paint a little olive oil over the top and set aside, lightly covered with plastic wrap, to rise for about an hour. Preheat the oven to 425F. Transfer the risen focaccia to the oven and bake for 40-60 minutes or until the crust is crisp and brown on top and cooked all the way through. Remove from the oven and serve immediately. " pp73-74, Cucina del Sole, N.H. Jenkins
Fit a well buttered 2 quart (or individual) souffle dishes with a standing collar exending 2" about rim. Butter and dust the dish and collar with sugar.
In a small heavy pan combine the apricots and apple juice. Bring the liquid to a boil and simmer covered for 20 minutes or until they are soft. In a food processor or blender, piree apricot mixture and transfer it to a bowl.
In a large bowl beat the egg white with salt until fluffy. Add the cream of tartar and beat until they hold sof peaks. Add the sugar a little at a time beating constantly. Add the sugar a lttle at a time, beating constantly. Continue to beat whites unti they they hold stiff peaks. Beat in vanilla. Stir 1/4 egg whites into apricot mixture, fold in remaining whites and spoon the mixture into souffle dishes or dish.
Bake at 375F for 25 to 30 minutes, or untill puffed and golden. Remove the collar carefully. Serve with whipped cream.
No collar for individual dishes if dish holds 1 1/2 cups. Cook for 20 minutes. Make ahead up to 1 hour. 5 minutes before souffle is cooked sprinkle icing sugar on top.
Be careful when choosing your noodles, they must be soaked and fried; a good quality noodles survives this cooking process. Add the chilli when it is served, to make the dish spicy or mild.
Ingredients for 2 people
1 Small Pack of Glass Noodle
1 Egg
Dry Shrimp
Tofu
Red Onion
Bean Sprouts
1/2 Tablespoon Sugar
2 Light Soy Sauce
1 Tablespoon Oyster Sauce
2 Tablespoon Chilli Sauce
1 Tablespoon Peanuts ( fine pieces )
1 Teaspoon Dry Flaked Chilli
3 Tablespoons Oil
To do:
1. Soak the glass noodles in water for 5 minutes to soften them.
2. Chop the tofu into small squares,
3. Slice the red onion into smaller pieces.
4. Clean the fresh bean sprounts.
5. Put the oil in a hot frying pan with the dry shrimp, and fry for 30 seconds
6. Move it to one side of the frying pan to make room to fry an egg.
7. Break the egg in hot oil and stir quickly for a few seconds to break it up.
8. Add the glass noodle and other cooking ingredients and stir-fry for 1 minute.
Brown zucchini, then layer and sprinkle with thin slices of garlic, mint leaveSs; finish with wine/cider vinegar, let sit for three hours, and serve cold.
6-8 zucchini (courgettes) olive oil 2 garlic cloves 3 tbsp mint leaves very good wine vinegar salt
An alternate guide for when antiche ricette and amiche are not available.
For the dough 1 kg. Hard wheat flour ½ cup water ½ tablespoon salt ½ cup olive oil 1 lemon ½ cup white wine
For the filling Olive oil Fried eggplants Tomato sauce Grated cheese like Provola and Caciocavallo, and Ragusano
Mix flour, water, lemon juice, white wine and salt in a kneading machine for 5/10 minutes. When the dough is smooth and elastic, knead by hand adding oil slowly. Knead until the oil will be completely absorbed.
Draw a square sheet of pastry as big and thin as you can, helping you with some flour if needed. Season with olive oil and tomato sauce all the sheet, avoiding only two bands above and beneath. Add vegetables and grated cheese at your pleasure, only in the middle. Now you have to fold the scaccia. Ply up and down the bands to the middle, then ply the lateral dough to the middle for two times, closing it like a book. Finish with olive oil.
Preheat oven at 200° (centigrade, eh?) and cook until it will be golden brown.
You can make also smaller pieces of scaccia and fill them with ricotta cheese, herbs and spinaches, onions.
On September 14, I picked about ten cones/fronds of edible sumac from trees growing wild near a grocery store. These are the furry marroonish cones you see by the roadside often in overgrown, weedy areas. I brought them home in a plastic grocery bag, and put them in the refrigerator. Three days later I:
This was my first attempt at sumac-ade, and it was very easy to do, and quite good. If we, in the northern climes ever get cut off from our southern regions we can still have pink lemonade. The tang is supposedly malic acid, and it resides in the slight bit of hairy fruit that surround the very large seed of the sumac. The trick is to rough up the berries enough in stripping that they release their color and flavor. Sumac is native to New England as I do believe the Native tribes here used it very well.
“My major criteria for the blog recommendations are consistent posting over time, frequency (more than once a week), sticking to the topic, and a general sense of value to a public librarian . (Shifted Librarian).
Basically, readers want an article that amazes, surprises, touches, amuses, tells them something they couldn’t know otherwise. As editor/writer, you yourself have to:
Some blogs like The Shifted Librarian are so content rich the layout can be functional if not lovely. Others with a more visual emphasis, where layout and visuals are key parts of what people like to see, you have to pay a lot more attention to an aesthetically satisfying experience.
This is my first ‘perfect’ bread — amazing what happens when you follow the recipe. My cooking notes are attached. Check out photos the lovely, yummy details of crust and texture here. Jan 22-07 — KAFlourWhite, 1/2 tsp. yeast, room temp 65F, rise in 80F gas-piloted oven (330pm -initial mix, 530pm -activity visible, 9:30pm -bubbles,12:30am (+9hrs) -very expanded. 8:30AM -slightly down, bubbles covered ). Removed dough, folded onto floured board, rested. Folded over, seam down onto heavily floured cotton cloth, covered into 80F oven, two hours. 10:30 - dough had doubled easily. 10:40 - dough stuck to cloth as I was trying to plop into pre-heated cast iron pan — had to use knife to scrape away from cloth. Cooked covered with dome (inverted mixing bowl), 30 min, and removed at 25 min — bottom burnt. Very hard crust. Makes snap crackle pop noises as its cooling. Oven temperature may not be accurate.
Jan-29-07 - Five Roses Flour, generic whit, 3/8 tsp yeast, rise at room temp 18C, (930PM mix, 930AM well bubbly, 430PM formed ball, put on plate with cornmeal, covered with cloth)
1/2 cup olive oil
6 large cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chopped black olives
2 tbsp drained capers
50 g can anchovies, chopped, drained
28 oz (796 mL) can diced tomatoes with juices
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tsp chili flakes
2 tbsp each: red wine vinegar, fresh lemon juice
6 cups dried fusilli
1/2 cup chopped curly parsley
In large pan, heat oil over medium. Add garlic. Cook, stirring, 5 minutes to soften. Don’t brown. Add olives, capers and anchovies. Cook, stirring, 3 minutes. Add tomatoes and their juices. Raise heat to medium to reach gentle simmer. Stir in oregano, chili flakes, vinegar and lemon juice. Cover; cook 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, in large pot of boiling, salted water, cook fusilli as per package instructions until al dente; drain well. Divide pasta over 8 plates; cover with equal portions sauce. Garnish each with parsley.Makes 4 main or 8 appetizer servings.
Adapted from Sara Moulton’s book Sara’s Secrets. The grilled squid served in bite-size pieces adds a smoky richness to a standard mesclun salad brightened by multi-coloured tomatoes and the lighter but still pungent tang of a white balsamic vinaigrette.
1-1/2 lb (700 g) cleaned squid (1 or 2)
1-1/4 cups olive oil
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp kosher salt + more to taste
2 tbsp freshly ground pepper + more to taste
1/4 tsp chili flakes
1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
8 cups mixed salad greens
2 cups diced tomatoes (red, yellow and orange)
Place squid in glass or ceramic container.
In bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup oil, lemon juice, 1 tablespoon salt, 2 tablespoons pepper and chili flakes. Pour over squid. Cover. Marinate 2 hours in fridge.
Remove squid from marinade and barbecue directly over high heat on greased grill 90 seconds per side. Let cool 10 minutes. Cut into 1-1/2-inch pieces.
In small bowl, whisk together remaining 3/4 cup oil and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper.
Divide greens over 8 plates. Top each with equal portions squid and tomatoes. Drizzle 2 tablespoons dressing over each. Add final grinding of pepper and serve.
Makes 8 servings.
Merluzzini Con Lo Zenzero
Miniature Cod-Ginger Cakes are a modern answer to the traditional Polpette di Baccala or Salt Cod Balls that are a part of the traditional Seven Fishes dinner. These are adapted from a codfish cake recipe in James Beard’s American Cookery. Crispy outside, creamy inside, with the bright tang of fresh ginger, they make great hors d’oeuvres. If you want a dipping sauce, standard seafood cocktail sauce or a mayonnaise-based sauce flavoured with lemon juice and/or dijon mustard are good choices.
2 large Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1 lb (450 g) cod fillets
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup plain dry breadcrumbs
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 tbsp finely grated, peeled ginger
Salt + pepper to taste
1/2 cup peanut oil
Curly parsley sprigs for garnish
Place potatoes in medium pan. Cover with water. Bring to boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium. Cook 8 to 10 minutes, until easily pierced with fork. Drain well; return to pot. Add olive oil. Mash until smooth. Cool.
Place cod in microwaveable dish, cutting to fit if needed. Add 1/2 cup water. Cover tightly with plastic wrap. Microwave on high 4 minutes. Remove from dish; cool. Drain excess water.
In large mixing bowl, combine mashed potatoes, cod, breadcrumbs and eggs. Using potato masher, mash until smooth. Stir in ginger. Season with salt and pepper.
Form mixture by hand into 24 patties, each about 1/4 cup. Refrigerate, covered, at least 4 hours or 1 day ahead.
To cook, in large skillet, heat peanut oil over medium until shimmery. Cook 8 cod cakes at a time until golden, about 5 minutes. Carefully turn; cook 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining cod cakes.
Place on serving platter. Garnish with parsley. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Makes 24.
Risotto Dell’aragosta
This is adapted from the recipe for Risotto Milanese in The Classic Italian Cookbook by Marcella Hazan. A basic risotto is made even more unctuous for this festive meal by the addition of sweet lobster meat, a hint of pungent truffle oil and the sparkle of fresh tarragon. Either buy your lobster/lobster meat already cooked, or buy two live lobsters (each about 1-1/4 pounds or 600 grams) and steam as per your usual method.
6 cups chicken stock
1 tsp saffron threads
2 tbsp each: unsalted butter, olive oil
1 tbsp finely chopped shallot
2 cups arborio rice
1/2 cup Champagne, dry white wine or vermouth
2 tsp white pepper
2 cups chopped cooked lobster meat
1-1/2 cups finely grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
1 tbsp white truffle oil
1/4 cup finely chopped tarragon
Freshly grated black pepper to taste
In large saucepan, bring stock to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low to maintain strong simmer. Using mortar and pestle, grind saffron to fine powder. Cover with 1/4 cup simmering stock.
In large, wide pan over medium-low, heat butter and olive oil until slightly bubbling. Add shallot. Cook, stirring, 2 minutes to soften. Don’t brown. Add rice. Cook, stirring, 2 minutes until well coated. Reduce heat to low. Add Champagne, wine or vermouth. Stir gently with wooden spoon until liquid is absorbed. Stir in saffron mixture and white pepper. Add 1/2 cup simmering stock to rice, stirring until absorbed. Repeat until stock is gone and rice is creamy but slightly al dente. This will take about 20 minutes. Stir in lobster, cheese and truffle oil. Cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Stir in tarragon; remove from heat.
Divide over 8 plates. Season with black pepper. Makes 4 main or 8 appetizer servings.
Zuppa di Cozze
This recipe takes Alexander Dumas’ description of an everyday Neapolitan Zuppa di Vongole from his Grande Dictionnaire de Cuisine and replaces the clams with plump mussels. It’s a dish of bold, simple flavours and you should taste them all distinctly: garlic, tomato, wine and, above all, the mussels.
1/4 cup olive oil
4 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
28 oz (796 mL) can diced tomatoes with juices
1 cup dry white wine
3-1/2 cups chicken stock
2 lb (900 g) mussels, bearded, rinsed, drained
Salt + pepper to taste
1/2 cup chopped curly parsley.
In large pan, heat oil over medium. Add garlic. Cook, stirring, 5 minutes to soften. Don’t brown. Add tomatoes, wine and stock. Raise heat to medium-high; bring to gentle boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes.
Add mussels; cover. Cook 5 minutes. Uncover. Discard any unopened mussels. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in parsley.
Serve in soup bowls.
Makes 8 servings.
