Pastabilities, part 2

"Whose crazy idea was this?!" was what I probably was thinking Wednesday as I reshelved Marc Vetri's Mastering Pasta book. Quite an adventure.

 

 

Hubby was away for the night in CA and my older daughter was off at gymnastics, so that left me and my younger daughter to come up with an idea for dinner.  My bright idea was that since I had all this fresh basil, and I'd seen the basil dough recipe in his book the other day, those 2 things should add up to one delicious meal.  And in a roundabout way, they did, but not without me making several adjustments.

Since it was just the 2 of us, I decided to halve the recipe and make only 1/2# of fresh basil pasta dough.  What probably would have taken an Italian mama a matter of minutes to prepare ended up spanning the length of close to 2 hours.  Now granted, this timeframe included prepping the mise en place for both the pasta dough and the sauce, along with crostini, resting the dough 30 minutes, then hand cranking it thru the pasta machine a minimum of 2 times per pressure setting from 7 down to 3, then rolling it thru the fettuccine blades before boiling a couple of minutes, combining with my sauce, then wolfing it down. 

First off, this recipe spans pages 142 to 145, and is for Parsley Dough along with other varieties, including chestnut, chive, cocoa, lemon, or pistachio.  Even excluding the photo page and the page with the various preps, you're still left with 2 pages full of instruction.  Yikes!  Now, I love to read, but even I finally tossed the book aside at one point and began winging it. 

There's just far too many detailed and minute instructions.  If you've absolutely never prepared pasta or some other style of dough before, you'd probably want to read thru the steps a couple of times.  And while it's great that he's explaining how it should feel at different stages, and why you roll it several times, along with what settings you may wish to stop at for any number of the multitude of shapes you'll be wanting to form for your particular dish, it seems to go on forever.

I'll immediately go into what I'd do next time I make this dough:

1 - Go ahead and make a full pound (or more).  It was just far too much effort to put forth for 2 large servings.  Vetri espouses freezing dough up to 3 months - good to know for another time as long as you get the dough out the night before so it can thaw in the fridge.



Blanching basil leaves



Basil leaves after blanching - still vibrant green



Basil dough after kneading 5 minutes 

2 - Do NOT use the first method of utilizing a stand mixer with the paddle attachment.  Italian mamas have for centuries placed flour(s) on their work surface, making a well in the center, adding egg yolks and a puree of herb, spinach, etc. if "flavoring" the dough, then gradually mixing the flour into the eggs with their fingers before kneading. 

I had a HOT MESS attempting to detach the dough from my Kitchenaid stainless mixer bowl - it was worse than any other food items I've EVER had to scrape out of a bowl.  Absolutely frighteningly difficult, to the point where I actually considered just trashing the whole lot.  I attempted using a plastic bowl scraper, moved on to a silicone spatula, and with a desperate final effort, scraped it out with my fingertips.  I believe my error there was in a touch too much water added, as once I had it out and kneaded it, added a dusting of bench floor from time to time, it was perfectly fine to handle.
 

 3 - Pressing onward, feeling frustrated over the amount of effort versus the reward of fresh pasta, after the initial 30 minute resting period wrapped in plastic, I began the rolling process using a hand-cranked roller set attached to my countertop.   Why they don't have suction feet opposite the side with the handle (the side you clamp onto the counter) is a mystery.  If you crank hard at all, the unclamped edge lifts off the surface, increasing the effort by forcing you to slow down that much more in an attempt to keep all sides of the roller on an even surface. 

Pasta sheet, pressure #4

Onward I plunged, tho, finally being rewarded with 3 long strips of pasta dough.  Now, everything would have been just a touch simpler if I had just read the instruction sheet included in my pasta rolling machine, since this is a valuable remark that Vetri omits:  once you've rolled the dough into sheets, allow it to rest 10 minutes, so it will dry slightly and be easier to crank thru your cutting blades without sticking, and doing away with the possibility that you'll have to separate the strands by hand before cooking, as we found necessary with the first sheet I cut.

Finished rolling at pressure #3

Cutting fettuccine strands



This is 1/2# of dough

Now, if anyone's interested, I'll pass along the recipe.  I will make this dough again, whether with basil or any of the other variations, but ignore the instructions other than the measured ingredients list, and just use my common sense.

 

Here's are photos of my heirloom tomato sauce ingredients, along with my finished preparation.  It's a variation of a previous heirloom tomato sauce, adding sautéed onions, a ladleful of the pasta water, a chiffonade of basil leaves, S&P, and a grating of Parmigiano-Reggiano.  Tasty enough that I'll do it again!  In fact, it's noon here and I'd love to have a bowl of this right now...Ciao mi amores!

Heirloom tomatoes (I used yellow and red)

Diced heirloom tomatoes and sautéed onions

Chopped burrata cheese topped with fresh-ground pepper
and a drizzle of EVO - to be smeared on crostini

 

Pastabilities, part 1

Seems I'm really feeling the pasta lately.  But, please humor me while I diverge from my food topic to what brought up the pasta topic... 

 

Saturday I enjoyed a heart-warming, albeit drizzly day out with the family.  We visited the Lake Farmpark for their annual Horsefest.  Before it became the Farmpark, in the 1980's this property was owned by a doctor who raised perfect examples of Polish Arabian horses, including Gwalior, who is forever immortalized with a statue that still stands there, despite now being owned by Lake County.  

Happily I can report that I was finally rewarded with a bit of a horse fix, which I've desperately craved and needed.  A little on my background.  In 1984 I bought Margaux, a pretty little grey 8-year-old Arabian mare who I initially rode Western.  When we changed boarding barns, I switched over to dressage, as every other person there rode dressage (plus the saddle is so much lighter in weight and thus much easier to lift up over a horse's back). 

We spent many years together, until she passed away 11 years ago, just a few days shy of turning the grand old age of 29.  But sadly, I've experienced very few truly satisfying horse encounters since then, with the exception of trail rides in Bryce and Arches National Parks in Utah.  One of my most notable horseback experiences came 2 years ago when we went to Vermont and I was able to mark riding the tolt on an Icelandic horse off my Bucket List.  Quite a thrill, but nearly surpassed 8 years ago when I was within touching distance of a very pregnant wild mare, along with several others from her herd in the Pryor Mountains.    

In search of some kind of solution to the lack of my own horse, 2 years ago I volunteered with an equine therapy riding school, where I was a side walker, which is someone who walks along on either side of the horse and either helps reassure the rider by gently holding their leg in position or simply being there just in case the rider loses their balance. 

I hoped that with my love of horses, this would be a good fit for me - I would be around horses, and I would be helping someone else with therapy, whether an autistic child or an adult with multiple sclerosis.  Unfortunately, the thing I desired most was closeness to a horse, but while you were allowed to touch the horse, you really weren't afforded the opportunity to love them up properly.  So, when summer rolled around, I decided that volunteering position would end for me.

While we were loving up the horses Saturday, my younger daughter asked which I'd rather have - a horse or a new car.  I replied that hands down it would be a horse.  I'd be more than content to drive our cars til they run out of steam for the opportunity to have another horse.

The Horsefest this year featured/compared draft horses and miniatures - from the biggest to the tiniest.  My thought now is that instead of the black Friesian I'd dearly love (and OMG there was a mighty fine example of one there I would have loved to bring home and adore forever!), or a Peruvian Paso, Lusitano, Lipizzaner, or another Arabian, I may at some time in the future decide that just having ANY horse will do, and "settle" for having a miniature horse.  It's more about the horse than it is about riding, and the expenditure and space required is much more minimal.

 

When I began my businesses, The Ku-kie Baker and Pasticceria Ventoso, I had a stall at the Farmpark's farmers' market, which was one of the smaller ones locally.  Sadly I found out that while those folks who shopped there might be willing to buy someone's 1# loaf of anyone-could-bake-it zucchini bread or other products made with generic ingredients, there were still people around who apparently weren't as food obsessed as I, and who had no clue as to what biscotti or focaccia bread are - thus my more upscale selections weren't embraced enough for me to feel my time investment was warranted, especially when it felt like I was taking a large chunk of time away from the family. 

I think about giving it another try at a larger farmers' market, but am still not convinced that people will pay an individual the same prices they'll pay at somewhere like Whole Foods.  Ah, to the future...But I digress, right?

And now, it's time to wrap back to the beginning of this post - we were out all day enjoying the horses, so I didn't feel like making a big fuss over dinner.  It was going to have to be no stress and easy to make.  My solution was to first get my pasta pot full of water and set it to boil, then grab a bowl and dice up a few heirloom tomatoes, grate in a little Parmigiano-Reggiano, toss in some cubes of fresh mozzarella, chiffonade some basil leaves, add a drizzle of EVO and balsamic vinegar, and S&P to taste. 

Next, I grabbed a baguette, sliced it, brushed w/EVO, and set it to toast in my toaster oven while I got down a small bowl and diced up a ball of burrata cheese (my current fav).  This was placed on the table to smear on the crostini slices.

Then my choice of pasta sauce was pesto, as I had 2 basil plants I'd just picked up at Heinen's.  Just a typical pesto recipe - so easy - NO cooking required!  Take 2 cups of basil leaves packed down to measure, then toss into a mini food processor along with 1/3 cup pine nuts, a clove of garlic, and 1/4 tsp salt.  Take it for a spin, then leave it running, while you slowly drizzle in 1/2 cup EVO until an emulsion forms.  Scrape the pesto into a bowl and fold in 1/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. 

Once my pasta was nearly done, I took a ladleful of the pasta water and stirred it into my bowl of pesto before draining the rigatoni into the bowl to toss. 

My pasta choice was a whole wheat durum rigatoni, which the package tells you to boil 10 minutes.  Here's a couple of secrets for pasta and its sauce:

1 - Always generously add salt once your water is boiling.  Pasta will taste rather bland even with the sauce if it hasn't been salted.

2 - Subtract a couple of minutes from the suggested time on the box, and when (in this case 8 minutes) that time is up, pick out one piece, run it under cold water long enough to cool it so you can taste test it to be al dente.  You can always continue cooking if it's too crunchy, but you can never make pasta go from overcooked and limp to the proper firmness you truly want to experience.

3 - Just before draining your pasta into your sauce, take a large ladleful of the pasta water and stir it into your sauce.  The starches released from your pasta into the water will help thicken your sauce, giving it a more creamy mouthfeel.

4 - The last minute or two of the suggested time the pasta should spend being gently stirred or tossed with the sauce over heat to combine.

5 - If you're not serving directly out of your pan, preheat your pasta serving bowl, spoon in the pasta with its sauce, then grate more cheese on top if desired, along with a fresh chiffonade of basil, and a drizzle of EVO.

We ended up with a lovely bowl of rigatoni with pesto, and tossed in some of the tomato mixture to our individual tastes, along with that delectable smear of burrata on crostini.  I seriously think dinner was ready in 15 minutes - boiling the pasta took the longest time and that was only 8 minutes.

Next post, I'll tell you about another pasta adventure of mine - homemade basil fettuccine from Wednesday.  Seriously, I think I've made a pasta dish 4 times in 10 days.  Until then, ciao!

Heirloom Tomatoes and Burrata

Over the course of the past year, it seems I just can't get enough of burrata, except those times when we're dining out and it's paired with (dreaded) beets.  Just cannot overcome my dislike, no matter how they're prepared, and so I bypass the burrata. 

 

One of the next recipes I was going to try was from my latest cookbook, acquired last week (yes, I'm still adding).  From Marc Vetri's Mastering Pasta, I was looking at his Heirloom Tomato and Burrata Lasagna, so while at the grocery store this afternoon, I picked up several luscious heirloom tomatoes, in rainbow colors of red, yellow, and green, along with a couple of 1/2# tubs of burrata balls. 

 

Once I returned home and unpacked everything, I changed my mind on using the recipe and opted to just simplify and wing it.  Here's a brief description - it was quite tasty, if I say so myself (and I do).  Quantities are mere estimates.

 

Fill your pasta pot with a gallon of water and set it on to boil.

 

Meanwhile, heat 2-3 T of EVO in a skillet, then add

1/2 of a large yellow onion, diced fairly fine, along with

3/4 of a red bell pepper, diced fairly fine

 

Stir occasionally until softened, ~5 minutes, then pour in

1/2 cup of dry to semi-dry white wine.  I used a Sauvignon Blanc from Ontario, Canada.  Allow the wine to evaporate as you dice:

 

~2# of heirloom tomatoes - I used one HUGE red one, along with a green, and a yellow.  Toss them into your sauce and allow them to soften and cook down.

 

Rub 2 tsps. of lemon (or regular) thyme between your palms (this will help dried herbs release their oils), along with a tsp of oregano, and drop into the sauce, plus several grindings of black pepper and salt to taste. 

 

Just before combining with your pasta, chiffonade 6-8 large basil leaves.  To chiffonade, stack the leaves on top of each other, roll them similar to a cigarette, then slice through them widthwise to make fine strips.  Add the basil to your sauce.

 

Once the pasta of your choice (I used 12 oz. of penne rigate) is al dente, toss it into your sauce, and add 2 ladlefuls of the pasta water.  This will help thicken your sauce slightly. 

 

Allow everyone to dish out their own pasta, then pass around the bowl of burrata, which you've already diced up, along with a few grinds of Parmigiano-Reggiano. 

 

I served this along with very thinly sliced chicken pieces, to add some protein to the dinner. 

 

Next time I make this, I'll probably use an entire large onion, preferably a Vidalia, plus a roasted red pepper, and maybe some red pepper flakes for some added zing.

 

Ciao 'til another time!



Thanks for the Motivation!

This seemingly has nothing to do with my cookbook blog (but inevitably it DOES), so...please humor me for a few moments while I derail myself onto a different track and kvetch about my recent frustrations - I'll be good to go once I express a few thoughts.  And I really should toss out thanks to my kids for their recent motivation to step up my blogging effort.

 

After posting yesterday how nice the breakfast was that hubby prepared, and thanking the girls for their cards, the remainder of the day was, quite sadly, SSDD.

 

Neither of the girls had planned anything out of the ordinary to celebrate Mother's Day, which leaves a bad taste in my mouth, needless to say. While I guess I should feel fortunate my kids aren't into drugs, alcohol, or pregnant, when I have to (very enviously) listen to other mothers say how wonderfully their kids treated them, it's difficult to remain upbeat about the whole deal.

 

By 2:00, hubby and I decided to just hop in our convertible and go to my favorite local winery, M Cellars, since it was uber apparent nothing was forthcoming from the daughters.

 

If my father hadn't been coming up to join us for dinner, we would have just stayed out of the house, to avoid the disappointment felt when your children either can't be bothered, don't care, or lack any imagination.

 

This morning, I very deliberately avoided watching any of the morning news shows, as I didn't want to listen to so many other mothers effuse about what a wonderful time their children had spent with them, or anything else to do with Mother's Day. 

 

It's just like Valentine's Day - a "holiday" meant to separate people from money by buying a card, taking her out for lunch, or buying a hanging basket.  Just like a single person often feels resentment about Valentine's Day, my heart is hardening against Mother's Day.

 

Since my own mother passed away nearly 3 years ago, I guess there's no need for any future "celebration" of this made-up "holiday".  I've already told hubby that next year we are returning to Niagara-on-the-Lake for their month-long wine trail event, like we did 2 years ago.  Don't know if they have Mother's Day there or not, but I can ignore it quite well in Canada.

 

This lack of outward caring/pseudo snubbing by the kids, who'd apparently rather spend hours on their Chrome books (and NOT just for homework) instead of attempting/wasting anything out of the typical for me on a "special day" is spurring me on to want to devote more time to this blog project, but the fact that I've given my blog info to a few friends, and only one has read it to date, made me contemplate and ponder if it's a waste of time. 

 

HOWEVER, since this project was basically started BY me, FOR me, essentially it doesn't matter if ANYONE else reads it, does it? 

 

SO, onward I go!  Not gonna let this keep me down. I'm gonna make my "OWN happy" - at least I know what I like!

 

 



Breakfast, or Brunch?

It's Mother's Day, so I'll pose this question to you - Which would you prefer - a true, traditional breakfast, as in eggs and some sort of meat, or perhaps today's more health-conscience choice of cereal or yogurt with fruit, OR do you wanna sleep in and treat yourself to a leisurely brunch, featuring more savory items, like a quiche, strata, or salads, and perhaps a mimosa for added good measure? 

 

The Mother's Day breakfast I asked for (and luckily hubby and younger daughter prepared) included salty, smoky, thick-cut bacon to go along with Kellogg's Corn Flakes-crusted thick slices of French toast with raspberries, strawberries, maple syrup, and whipped cream (and the iced remains of my triple-shot Venti Mocha from Starbucks).  Yummy!

 Answer this week's poll in the next couple of days, so that next weekend I will prepare one of the recipes for your enjoyment, using Gale Gand's Brunch!  These days, I relish sitting down with someone else for breakfast.  Saturday or Sunday are the only times we can all be together and make it worth the time and effort to prepare something more tasty than just cereal or instant oatmeal. 

 

Who wants to make pancakes or waffles for one person?  It's almost impossible to cut those recipes down for a single person and have the food taste good, because a pancake or other batter recipe typically calls for one egg per four servings.  While that's possible when merely cutting your recipe in half for 2 people instead of 4, there's way too much waste when you tried to measure out 1/2 ounce of an egg (most large eggs weigh 2 ounces).  Thankfully, once I've measured out the amount of egg I need for my recipe, my male kitty, Kona, enjoys lapping up the remains of my leftover whisked egg.  

 

I'll be deciding upon another recipe for this week - one decidedly NOT for breakfast - and will post on that choice a bit later.  If there is any type of food you've always wanted to prepare yourself, but never got around to for whatever reason, leave me a comment and I'll do my best to search for any recipes I have similar to it and see what we come up with for ideas.

 

Ciao for now!