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Heirloom Tomatoes, "Panzanella Style"

For dinner, I prepared the Heirloom Tomatoes, "Panzanella Style" from page 32 in Rick Tramonto's Amuse-Bouche that accompanies the Buttermilk Crackers I made yesterday.

 

This being April in Ohio, and watching the grapple/snow falling off and on today (yes, on the 22nd of April), the most you can hope for in tomatoes with any taste are grape tomatoes, so I substituted red and yellow ones for heirloom, tho honestly I believe the red ones are baby Romas.  I cut a dozen of each color into 3 crosswise slices and allowed the seeds and liquid to drain while I prepared the pasta that was our main course. 

 

The recipe is as follows, with my notes/changes highlighted in red w/white ink.

 

1 cup diced red and yellow tomatoes

1 T olive oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1 T balsamic vinegar (fruit of the gods!)

6 large shavings Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

6 Buttermilk Crackers (page 247) OR high-quality store-bought crackers

Currant tomatoes on the vine, for garnishing

 

1. In a small bowl, toss the tomatoes with the olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper.  I use extra-virgin olive oil exclusively.
2. To serve, divide the tomato salad among 6 small plates and drizzle with the vinegar.  Top each serving with a shaving of cheese, a cracker, and a few currant tomatoes.  I divided this into 4 small bowls, as it's too large a portion for me to consider as an amuse, but it's great as a small side salad, especially if you add an extra cracker and a grating of cheese, or in my case tonight, buttery, oozy delicious burrata cheese and a few crostini.

   

   BUTTERMILK CRACKERS

   
   

   

   INGREDIENTS and UTENSILS NEEDED
   
    

   

   HEIRLOOM TOMATOES,
   "PANZANELLA STYLE"
   
    

    

   
   

   

   CAVATELLI ALLA MELANIE
   
   Give it a try - this one's a skill level of 1, unless you have no knife skills, but what the hey, as long as you're using grape tomatoes, you could always just use them whole.
   
   Ciao again, and buona sera...

Yesterday's Buttermilk Cracker recipe, revisited

Yesterday's Buttermilk Cracker recipe was a hit with the fam, so hurray for the first effort.  Hubby came home and LOVED it!  Likewise, so did the kids.

  Once I'd posted the recipe and my results, the thought occurred that I should also rate these recipes for ease of preparation, going with the idea that I should choose the rating # keeping in mind it should be based on ease for anyone who bakes/cooks NOT for their career, but just because they enjoy the process and its results - in other words, the "average" person. 

And, you'll notice I've added a poll option where you can offer your opinion on how YOU'D change up the recipe.

 

For now, I'll rank recipes on a scale of 1-10, going with the assumption that anyone reading this blog will already know how to measure ingredients, i.e. knowing the difference between a teaspoon (tsp) and a tablespoon (T).  A rating of 1 is for the recipe being so simple a young child or anyone who doesn't regularly dabble in the culinary arts would be successful taking it on, and 10 will be for only those "in the know", as in those who ARE occupied in the culinary world, OR those who greatly aspire to become involved, such as heading/hoping to head off for culinary training.

 

The Buttermilk Crackers recipe, I believe, should rank roughly at a 2 for ease of preparation if you spend any time in the kitchen other than gulping down a bowl of cereal while standing over the sink.  If that's your idea of meal preparation, you're probably not interested in this blog anyway, but I'll rate the crackers at a 5 for you if you have NO knowledge of what's needed to bake a recipe, 'cuz you may not know how to roll dough out or even have a rolling pin (try using a wine bottle in a pinch). 

I plan on revisiting this recipe in the near future, and preparing it using the tips I offered as to change of oven temp, thickness of the dough sheet, and chilling time, looking for an actual "crisp" cracker, and not the slightly chewier rendition I had following the recipe initially.  I'll let you know how the amuse turns out with those changes.

Ciao!



The First Recipe - Buttermilk Crackers, from Amuse-Bouche by Rick Tramonto

Well, it's finally taking place - the first recipe checked off my list!  And I'll bet my readers probably thought I was just bluffing with this project (can't say I blame you - it's taken a while, hasn't it?). 

A loyal reader suggested trying a recipe from Amuse-Bouche, by Rick Tramonto, well-known as being formerly affiliated with Tru in Chicago. 

 

Much like a great majority of American restaurant plates, the amuse-bouche has progressed in size from being a petite, single, bite-sized hors d'oeuvre into a small appetizer offered with the compliments of the chef and typically varies from day to day.  Just a little something to whet your appetite.

 

Now, I've been to quite a number of restaurants where there is absolutely no way you'd EVER be able to fit the amuse in your mouth in a single bite, which precludes the necessity, then, for using a knife and fork, which seems to negate the experience.  It should be petite enough that it is just so perfect of a singular bite that you wait in anticipation, looking eagerly for the next course to follow, and not be so large that it feels like an actual appetizer, salad, or soup.

 

On to the recipe I chose:  on page 32 is the recipe for the very seductive, vibrantly colored Heirloom Tomatoes, "Panzanella Style" photographed on page 33.  A rainbow of red, orange, yellow, and green tomatoes glisten with balsamic vinegar and olive oil, and are then topped by both shavings of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese AND Buttermilk Crackers dusted with salt and pepper (and it looks like herbs, though the recipe on page 247 makes no mention of other seasonings).

 

Well, the crackers are out of the oven, cooling on a rack.  The taste is fine - buttery and flavorful, though there are definite issues with the recipe, which I'll note right now, referencing the recipe's step #, BEFORE I give you the recipe as it is shown in the book.  The recipe will follow the photos at the bottom.

 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.  - Way too low a temperature, as I discovered before making a few adjustments.  I believe it should be 450 F. 
2. I think for step 2 I would suggest if you're concerned about the dough seeming exceedingly soft and sticky to you that you may add up to 1/4 cup flour, but I found the recipe's amount to be enough as long as you dust your surface before forming the disc and leave it to chill until firm.  I'd suggest you try the recipe once using my tip about increasing the oven temp to 450 (or at absolute minimum, to 400) BEFORE you go the route of adding that extra flour, and thus possibly toughening the texture of the crackers. 
3. You're told to wrap the dough disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or until firm enough to roll out.  I ended up taking it out after 1 hour, then placed it in the freezer for 15 minutes, as it was very soft.  I'd say next time it will just go straight to the freezer for 45 to 60 minutes.  Part of the issue of softness may also come from a bit more butter than necessary to the ratio of flour noted.
4. Step four instructs you to roll the dough into a very thin sheet, about 1/4" thick.  Thankfully I'd rolled mine 1/8" thick, or the lower temp and time would have rendered me a flaccid blob of greasy dough that needed far more time in the oven than the 6-10 as suggested in Step 5. 
5. As mentioned, time was to be 6 to 10 minutes or until golden brown.  I left it in 14 minutes at the prescribed 350, then took it out so I could raise the temp to 450, and put it back in for 10 minutes.  Next step for me was lowering the temp back down, to 400, then another 4-5 minutes, so all-in-all I baked it nearly 30 minutes.  And it is not particularly crispy like you'd expect a cracker to be, but it's flavorful, so I'll make the recipe again, changing it according to my testing results.

Now this isn't an issue, but I'll let you know that when I brushed the top with egg white before baking, along with the salt and pepper I added 1/2 Tablespoon of artisan bread topping, consisting of flax, sesame, caraway, sunflower, poppy, and anise seeds, and it has a nice extra flavor and crunch to accompany the melt-in-your-mouth butteriness of the original recipe.

 

Let's delve into the recipe so you can make it yourselves.  These pics show the results of steps along the way, along with the various utensils that will make your life easier as you follow the recipe, including a mixer with paddle attachment, spatula (not shown), rolling pin, cookbook stand, my flour dusting shaker, half sheet pan lined with parchment paper, and the ingredients measured ahead of time.  

 

Following a recipe goes more smoothly if you read it thru once, then measure each ingredient and set them out in the order in which you'll be using them, called doing your Mise En Place. 

 

BUTTERMILK CRACKERS, PAGE 247
AMUSE-BOUCHE, BY RICK TRAMONTO

 

 

INGREDIENTS AND UTENSILS REQUIRED

 

MISE EN PLACE

 

DOUGH DISC BEFORE CHILLING

 

DOUGH AFTER DOCKING, OR PRICKING WITH A FORK

 

DOUGH BRUSHED WITH EGG WHITE
AND SPRINKLED WITH SALT, PEPPER, AND SEED MIXTURE

 

BUTTERMILK CRACKERS ON WIRE RACK TO COOL

 BUTTERMILK CRACKERS - makes enough for 6 to 10 servings

 

1-1/4 cups (OR 5-1/2 oz. by wt.) of all-purpose flour, plus more as needed for dusting

 

1-1/2 teaspoons sugar (OR 7g OR 1/2 Tablespoon)

 

Pinch of salt, plus more as needed for sprinkling on top

 

5 Tablespoons (OR 5/8 of a stick) of unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" cubes

 

1/2 cup PLUS 2 Tablespoons buttermilk (OR 5 oz. by wt.)

 

1 large egg white, lightly beaten

 

Freshly ground black pepper (for sprinkling on top)

 

 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F and position a rack in the center of the oven.  Line a jelly-roll pan or a large baking sheet with parchment paper.  Remember to NOT preheat the oven until you place your dough disc in the fridge or freezer to chill and firm up.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine 1-1/4 cups flour, sugar, and salt and mix at low speed until combined.  Add the butter and mix until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Add the buttermilk and continue to mix until the liquid is absorbed and the dough starts to come together.  Do not overmix.
3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface.  Shape into a disk.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or until firm enough to roll out.  Again, it will probably take more than 1 hour, unless you place it in the freezer.  Don't forget to turn on the oven!
4. Lightly dust the work surface and a rolling pin with flour.  Roll out the dough into a very thin sheet, about 1/4" thick, dusting the work surface and dough with additional flour as needed.  I'd suggest 1/8" so it will crisp like a cracker.  Prick the sheet of dough all over with a fork.  This is called "docking", and ensures that the dough won't puff up as much as it allows the steam generated by the oven evaporating some of the water content from the butter.  I transferred the dough to the sheet pan BEFORE docking, and didn't need to use the bench scraper I'd planned on using.  Transfer the dough to the prepared pan.  Unless the work surface is dusted with flour, the dough might stick.  Use a spatula or another tool to release it gently from the surface.  Brush the dough with some of the egg white and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  This is where I added those seeds - likewise, you could sprinkle on minced herbs for a different flavor. 
5. Bake in the middle of the oven for 6 to 10 minutes or until golden brown.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.  Break into irregularly shaped pieces to serve. 

 This recipe is to accompany the Heirloom Tomatoes, "Panzanella Style" which will have to wait until dinnertime, as I'm off to watch one of my kids at their track meet...

 

Ciao 'til later!

Homaro Cantu - the sad passing of a culinary genius - far too young

It's with a touch of sorrow that I feel I must acknowledge the passing of a culinary genius this week, and sadly via those same hands that created multitudes of examples of mixing food with science, Homaro Cantu:

 

http://www.eater.com/2015/4/14/8417143/michelin-starred-chef-homaro-cantu-found-dead-in-Chicago

 

Why is it that the human brain is capable of so much brilliance, yet our mind is able in the blink of an eye to destroy us?  Clearly we possess the ability to accomplish vast good for ourselves and the good of mankind, whether thru researching the cure for a dreaded cancer, or "merely" (and I hate to state it that way) to entertain us with the manner by which our food is artistically presented to us. 

 

Homaro was a forward-thinking chef - evidence of that abounds, whether via the Internet, or thru dining at his restaurant, or even in my personal case, simply by being thoroughly entertained by his inventive cleverness and charm when he challenged Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto not once, but twice, on Food Network's Iron Chef America. 

 

As a very young challenger in the 2006 episode, he and his 2 assistants stopped and made time to take what might have been one of the first "selfies" during the heat of the competition, and used edible ink to print out a photo.  At one point, he is seen walking around with a blinking digital message board, about 1-foot wide, hanging from his neck, sending messages out for all to see.

 

Following are excerpts from Wikipedia: 

 

In a 2006 episode of Iron Chef America, Cantu defeated Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto in a battle with beets as the theme ingredient. The high technology Cantu used to create his dishes included a laser to caramelize edible packaging material, as well as liquid nitrogen to create beet "balloons."

In a 2013 episode of Iron Chef America, Cantu returned as a challenger and faced Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto again in Battle Herring. Only this time, Cantu lost to Morimoto.

While some critics might not wish to acknowledge his cleverness and playful inventiveness as anything more than a novelty, there has to be some respect shown to him for his work at fighting the battle against world hunger.  Again, an excerpt from Wikipedia:

Cantu saw his edible paper as a novelty to amuse customers, but also a way to combat world hunger. "My goal with this is to deliver food to the masses that are starving," he declared. "We give them something that’s healthy, that has an indefinite shelf life and that is super cheap to produce."^[1] In 2013, Cantu founded the Trotter Project, a non-profit aimed at providing culinary education to students in poor neighborhoods.^[1] He gave away up to 250 lunches a day to kids in the Old Irving Park neighborhood who picked them up at Berrista.^[4]

Cantu's biggest cause was the miracle berry, which he believed could end hunger by allowing people to eat normally unpalatable food. He would regularly donate the berries to cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy to make food more palatable to them.^[4] As the co-host of the 2010 Discovery Channel TV show Future Food, he spent a week on a diet of miracle berries and common weeds, grass, and leaves he found in his backyard.

For me, his passing draws memories of other sad and recent losses.  In just a few weeks, it will have been a year since my brother died from complications from a seemingly-botched surgery, tho that did reveal that he also had a previously undetected cancer coursing thru his body.  Likewise, 2-1/2 years ago, tho not connected in any way, within weeks of my mother's passing away, a neighbor took her own life via hanging, as did Homaro this week... 

 

Condolences to his wife and 2 young daughters.  Gone too soon - RIP...



Amuse-Bouche

The first recipes I'm considering from Rick Tramonto's Amuse-Bouche include:

 

1. Roasted Shallot Custard;
2. Heirloom Tomatoes, "Panzanella Style" (with buttermilk crackers) - dependent upon the quality of locally available tomatoes;
3. Warm Onion Tart with Thyme -- I'm fairly certain I have fresh Spring thyme of some sort growing now;
4. Pickled Ramps - time for me to head to the woods with my shovel, 'cuz I think we have ramps up now, tho viewing them via use of binoculars from the kitchen isn't a certainty;
5. Vanilla Foam with Fingerling Potato Chips - this would involve probably more time than I want to spend, but it sounds way cool...;
6. Cabernet-Shallot Sorbet with Pistachio Waves - OMG, if you could just see what this looks like - wow!  It involves reducing a full bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon by half, over about an hour's time before putting it into an ice-cream machine.  Still, even if this isn't one of the recipes I choose now, at some time I will most certainly be making this recipe and sharing my results.  The food porn photo of it is just far too seductive...

 

Time for a trip to the local store to see how fresh the produce is looking.

Thanks to a subscriber's suggestions, I've gone back over all my posts and changed the font over most, and enlarged the print.  Hope you all can now enjoy reading both my past AND future posts more easily. 

 

Here's a little something to whet your appetite.  Very simple and easy to make, but filled with flavor - gingered carrot soup along with puff pastry croutons I taught in a Puff Pastry class.  How about I post the recipe(s) tomorrow?

Carrot Ginger Soup with puff pastry croutons

Ciao for today!

Life Gets in the Way, OR, my latest excuse(s) for NOT truly getting this project moving...

 

1. Kids just headed back to school after Spring Break - hurray!  Somehow even tho they're now both teenagers, and thus tend to go off on their own, I find myself NOT going about my day as I would when they ARE in school.
2. I have spent vast amounts of time organizing my craft room so it is uber efficient for being able to pull out an artistic endeavor at any given time, including prepping pages already for the Alaska, Washington, and Oregon vacation we'll be taking in the future, along with - and yes, you may think we're crazy with this amount of travel to come, 'cuz I most certainly do - also Hawaii.
3. Along that note of travel, there are now books on states, national parks, cities, AND wineries, along w/maps covering more than one table's surface, tho by the end of this week, everything's going back from whence it came.
4. Recycled hundreds of pounds of paper/magazines - really, why DO we hold on to the things we do?  It's not as tho I couldn't find a recipe or wine info on line or in a library book, so there seems no need to keep years of back issues of Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, or Saveur.  My only mags I intend on keeping are Food Network, and they're now nicely held in wire mesh or (p)leather holders.
5. Shutterfly offered a free book (uh oh!), so there went one week on Photoshopping pics from the numerous visits we made to Sesame Place when our girls were little and compiling them into a cute little remembrance.  Time flies SO quickly...

6. 

   Ice Cream, Soups, Healthy/Vegetarian, Breakfast, Wine

   
   

   Over this past weekend, I decided that since I can no longer put this pursuit off, and it was FAR time I post another entry, I wanted to refine the reorganization I made on my cookbooks when I initiated this project.  So, here are photos of the majority of my cookbooks, in a slightly more logical arrangement.  Please enjoy, AND, Pick one out for me to try - PLEASE!  Get me moving!
   

   

   Cupcakes, Mexican, Asian, Italian

   
   
   

   

   Desserts, Cookies, Cakes

   
   

   
   

   
   

   

   Cookies, Cakes, Baking Manuals

   
   
   
   
   
   

   
   

   
   



Noted Chefs, Professional Baking + Culinary Manuals


 



Slow OR Pressure Cooker, Grill, Meats, Bread, Pizza








Molecular Gastronomy, or
Fun Food Science Experimentation

 



Culinary Lives in Europe, and most importantly,
CHOCOLATE!!!

In Honor of April Fool's Day...

In honor of April Fool's Day, I'd thought about preparing a food fake, but being a pastry chef, the first thing that pops into my mind would be sweet foods, like decorating a cupcake to look like a cheeseburger or a crab, but sadly today I just don't have the time to bake, frost, and decorate.  It's the kids' last day of school before Spring break, so we have a few things to get accomplished that aren't as much fun as cakes would be. 

 

Surprised to hear from me?  I've been a very absent blogger.  It would appear I started this project a month earlier than I was ready for it.  I pushed this back when I decided I'd had enough of the only-slightly-organized state in which my crafting room had reached, and spent a LOT of the past few weeks consolidating photos, memorabilia, etc. from our travels into their own scrapbooking plastic boxes and getting MUCH use out of my P-touch labeler. 

 

I also decided it was time to heave out tons of recyclable papers, including Outdoor Photographers from 20+ years ago, and even school papers from when I was in elementary school.  How sad is THAT?!  Now, I may be leading you into believing that our home should have been on Clean House, but it was an organized amount of papers. 

 

It's fantastic to know that at any time, I can now actually pull out a box, sit down at my table, and work on a scrapbook page, easily reaching behind me for paper, embosser, stickers, brads/eyelets, etc.  Or, reach forward for my writing utensils box which has individual slots for each item, like gel pens, markers, colored pencils - you name it.  And my Cricut Explore is just to the left of me so I'm ready at a moment's notice to cut a dolphin for a beach page, flowers for a gardening scene, or even a penguin for my Galapagos book (yes, we swam with them on the equator - SO COOL!). 

 

I even finally bit the bullet and bought a hanging wooden shelving unit to display various glitters, beads, ribbons, etc. on - it's a beautiful rainbow on display now!  I'm so jazzed to finally sense that I can get some fulfillment and enjoyment out of my crafting/art projects, besides the time I create in the kitchen.

 

Probably the longest part of that project was gathering all the info from the multiple trips we've taken to the Finger Lakes since 2000 - there were quarterly wine gazettes and brochures in places ALL over the house - in the craft room, great room, dining room, and master bedroom.  We're talking about well over 20 visits, so the amount is impressive.

 

In revealing another of my passions, wine, you can expect to read about wine pairings with some of my future posts.  This is how much we enjoy wine and traveling to wineries, if it wasn't obvious by the # of our Finger Lakes trips - for Christmas this year, we got (another) wine refrigerator (to go with our first one in the wine cellar that is accompanied by the now several racks of wine bottles) and a faux marble table with two stools. 

 

This became the center point of what we now refer to as our wine tasting area.  Those items are set off by a wine server, complete with sliding cover for a cheese/charcuterie board, and glass and bottle racks.  And for décor on the walls, a metal vine with grapes, a poster-board-sized piece of art that one of our daughters made out of corks which appears to be red wine pouring out of a bottle and into a glass, and two photo collages of visits to our favorite wineries (including McGregor on Keuka Lake, Stag's Leap in Napa, M Cellars and St. Joseph in Ohio, and various wineries in Niagara-on-the-Lake) complete the scene.  Soon we'll be hanging grape cluster lights from the ceiling, and we'll probably consider it finished. 

 

Beginning in January, I decided Wednesdays we would be enjoying Hump Day wine bar tastings, opening bottles that we know we'll enjoy and that will accompany our dinner that evening, or using the Rabbit to pull the cork on older bottles that have (sadly) probably gone a bit longer unopened than they should have.  Hey, gotta keep making room on the wine racks for new purchases, right? 

 

Regardless, it feels GREAT to have rid myself of such unnecessary papers, and streamline my life so I can now throw myself into THIS project, and get COOKIN'! 

 

Ciao for now!