An "Italian" Moussaka Without a Lot of Details

I spent a good number of hours in the kitchen today (but that is my normal, not an exception) making my own "Italian" version of moussaka. It took a lot longer than anticipated.

Made some breaded eggplant but was low on breadcrumbs so after dipping the slices in egg and flour I covered the tops only with breadcrumbs flavored with oregano, black pepper, garlic powder and parmigiano. Baked them on a cookie sheet rather than fried.

The ground beef and tomato sauce (finely chopped onion, celery and carrots, garlic, diced garden tomatoes and canned tomatoes, basil and parsley) simmered for more than an hour.

Put some sauce, then a layer of eggplant, then most of the sauce, than a light layer of mozzarella, then another layer of eggplant and the remaining tomato sauce.

Topped the casserole with parmegiano-bechamel sauce and bread crumbs. 

Baked it at 350 for about 45 minutes. Served with a hot Italian sausage and a loaf of homemade bread.

Leon and I ate half the casserole...had to stop, but could have eaten more.

The photos don't do it justice.

1) Tomato Passata 2)Roasted Eggplant with Mushrooms and Tomato

Just what I don't need: another kitchen gadget. This one is for making tomato passata. Basically, tomato puree.

My tomatoes are ripe now, so a few days ago I took a chance and stopped in to Bed bath and Beyond - the item was supposedly out of stock, but there it was on the shelf.

 

Prepping my San Marzano and Roma tomatoes. Halving and cutting out green parts; boiling water bath until the skins start to loosen; let the excess water drain.

 

 

Basilico Genovese from the garden.

 

This is imported Passata. The jar is typical of the product in Italy.

This is all I got out of those tomatoes. About 24 liquid ounces. Watch the videos to see how much passata some people make.

The skin and seeds to go into compost.

 

I don't can stuff. This will go into the freezer. I did a second pass with the skins and seeds and got about a cup and a half more of passata which I will use for tonight's tomato sauce.

 

This is how the pros do it:

 

My next project for the morning was to make eggplant parmigiana.

But hubby called and said that we are going camping tomorrow instead of Monday as the campground had this Sunday available, but not this coming Saturday...whatever.

So I had to change my plans for the eggplant as it would take me hours with clean-up and now I had to hustle and cook and get the camper packed.

So I diced up the eggplant with garlic, onion, baby bella mushrooms, salt, pepper, oregano, pepperoncini (hot pepper flakes), olive oil and roasted the whole thing in the oven at 425 degrees.

My new plan involves adding the veggie mixture into a tomato sauce to serve over pasta. But I will need more sauce and don't want to use up all my new passata for tonight...so I reverted to the tomato paste from a can. (Kirkland organic if that makes a difference.)  Mom and every Italian aunt always "fried" the tomato paste in olive oil. It is not for me to question that wisdom, so that is how I do it too.

I added the second pressing of passata to the paste with water.

The roasted veggies ready to add to the sauce.

 

Fried some sausages and deglazed with a little red wine and added them to the sauce. Had some homemade turkey meatballs in the freezer, so added them as well.

So there. Can't wait for pasta tonight. Oh, and I also made bread this morning too. Baked one loaf and put two balls of dough into the freezer. We'll take one camping and have fresh bread one evening.

Dover Sole, Rissoto with Mushrooms and Asparagus

I've been trying to have fish at least once per week, but it is more expensive than chicken, for sure.

Sprouts, the poor people's Whole Foods where you don't spend a Whole Paycheck, had wild caught Dover Sole on sale. They also had wild caught Pacific Rockfish. I went for the sole. Very quick cooking in the frypan.

Lightly breaded Dover Sole dipped in egg and breadcrumbs 

Velvety Risotto with Crimini mushrooms, onion, white wine, chicken stock, parmigiano reggiano, butter 

Asparagus braised in chicken stock (there was some left from the risotto)

A simple, elegant meal

Give Us Our Daily Bread

[This is a duplicate post from ReluctantRebel]

One thing about not being able to sleep past 2 AM is that I get to make dough.

Rather than lay in bed and contemplate the ceiling or try to rub my sore back (Am I too old to be shoveling snow?) I finally got up, got dressed and went to my office - the kitchen.

Leon had mentioned cinnamon rolls...actually a co-worker of his was asking, so I woke up thinking about cinnamon rolls.

One not so good thing about not having a "recipe" is that when something comes out exceptionally well, you have no way of replicating it exactly.

My cinnamon rolls this morning were quite exceptional. I think I used a teaspoon of yeast in 1/2 cup water and 1/3 cup sugar; let that set for a few minutes, added a teaspoon of salt and a cup of gently warmed milk (2%) a half stick to 2/3 stick of butter, softened and enough flour (?) to make a soft dough. Beat it up, kneaded it gently and let it rise for an hour.

Then I formed the rolls by making a "rope" about 6-8 inches long, dipped each in melted butter and dredged them in cinnamon sugar, formed a spiral and placed them on a baking sheet and into a 375 degree oven for 20+ minutes.

After they cooled just a bit I frosted them with a thick confectioner sugar/water/orange extract mix.

Exceptional!



Then it was on to the bread. Actually I started the bread dough while the cinnamon rolls were rising.

I will say I am getting better every time I make bread. This morning I used 3 1/2 large coffee mugs of water, 2 teaspoons of yeast, a little sugar, salt and I mixed in a cup of whole wheat pastry flour with the King Arthur all purpose.

Those bread snobs who weigh everything: the water, the yeast, the flour. And they calculate the percentages of water to flour to yeast and salt. I have a kitchen scale but I think I would break it if I weighed my ingredients.

Besides, I've watched old Italian women on YouTube make bread in a large trough which probably holds twenty-five pounds of flour.

I think they take turns making bread for the entire neighborhood in one huge wood-fired oven that is prepared ahead and heated to probably over 900 degrees. It holds maybe 30 or more loaves of bread.

I don't have a wood-fired oven, but I heat mine to 475 degrees and place a large roasting pan with about 1/2 inch of water on the bottom of the oven and allow that to heat to steam point.

I brush my loaves with water and sprinkle on sesame seeds (cuz I like the flavor they impart) before taking them to the oven. The bread is done in 20 to 25 minutes.

Exceptional! If I do say so.

Insomnia bread. I beats tossing and turning.

"Pasta Grannies" - Gnocchi with Tomato Sauce and Tagliatelle

These are two of many videos on the YouTube Channel "Pasta Grannies"

The techniques are as varied as the artisans featured and the varieties of pasta more numerous than even I, as an Italian-American, could have imagined. I highly recommend the series for anyone interested in pasta.

Thanks to "Davis" for the suggestion.

Rainy Day Gnocchi: Gnocchi di Patate; Gnocchi di Ricotta; Gnocchi di Zucca

Spent a rainy day here in New Mexico (it rains so infrequently here) making three different kinds of gnocchi: traditional potato/flour gnocchi; light and airy ricotta/flour gnocchi; and roasted butternut/flour gnocchi.

The recipe is basic for all three: start with your signature ingredient: boiled in skin, peeled and riced potatoes; a container of ricotta cheese; seeded, quartered, roasted, peeled and riced butternut squash.

To each add a little salt (add an optional dash of nutmeg to the ricotta and the butternut squash).

Add flour a little at a time and mix lightly with your hands until a moist uniform dough forms; do not knead or over mix. Let rest covered with a damp dish towel for ten minutes or so.

Work with pieces the size of an orange while the rest of the dough stays covered. make the dough onto a rope by rolling with the fingers and palms on a LIGHTLY floured board until the rope is about the thickness of a hot dog.

Cut the rope into about 1-inch pieces and score each gnocco with a fork, rolling the piece forward and making a dimple in each gnocco. Place on a tray and freeze or cook in boiling salted water until they float to the surface. Remove with a slotted spoon, spider scoop or small strainer.

Little pillows of delectable goodness.

Serve with your favorite sauce: potato gnocchi with tomato sauce; ricotta gnocchi with butter and grated parmigiano; butternut gnocchi with browned butter and sage.


Here are the details:

Uncle Gregorio’s Gnocchi

Approximate proportions:  

3 lbs Idaho or Russet (baking) potatoes

1 lb of flour

salt

A potato ricer (A kitchen tool for pressing cooked potato through holes creating a course mash)

Wash and boil the potatoes whole with the skins till just cooked (a fork will just go through easily). Do not over-cook.  Allow the potatoes to cool then peal the skins off (the skins should slide off fairly easily).

Press potatoes through the ricer onto a floured board.

Add a little salt (about 1 tsp).

Add flour to the potatoes a cup or so at a time and mix gently by hand until the dough forms and is soft but not sticky – do not knead or over mix. 

Note: It is helpful to let the dough "rest" for 20-30 minutes so the flour absorbs moisture.

Cut off a piece of dough about the size of a large orange and using your palm and fingers roll the dough on the floured board forming a long “rope” about the diameter of a hot dog.

Cut the pasta rope into one-inch pieces and, still on the floured board, flick each of the gnocchi with your finger (or the back side of a fork) leaving an indentation in the center.   Place the gnocchi on dinner plates. Continue till you have used up all the dough. 

Boil a large pot of water, add salt. Boil batches of the gnocchi a plate-full at a time.  Slide the gnocchi gently off the plate into the boiling water and when the gnocchi rise to the surface, remove them with a strainer, spider, or slotted spoon. 

Place each batch in a bowl or serving dish into which you have ladled some of your favorite homemade tomato sauce.  Continue till all the gnocchi are cooked, adding more sauce as you add each batch. Serve immediately.

Instead of tomato sauce, toss with melted butter and Romano cheese.

Variation: Gnocchi di Ricotta

2 lbs ricotta cheese

All-purpose flour

Salt

Mix enough flour with the ricotta to make a soft light dough as with potatoes.

Make the gnocchi and cook as in the above recipe.

The Vegetable From Hell

 Artichokes. Has a nice ring in Italian: carciofi. (car-chee-o-fee)

There will probably never be a post on this blog for an artichoke recipe. Having grown up in an Italian American family one would think that I would have encountered an artichoke or two at some point in my life (besides the little artichoke hearts in a jar - those don't count). 

I think that maybe my paternal grandmother might have made stuffed artichokes but I have no clear memories of ever seeing her make them. I vaguely remember someone taking a leaf off the cooked, stuffed artichoke and scraping it against his or her bottom front teeth to get the morsel of the edible part of the vegetable. 

It seemed considerably less rewarding than cracking open lobster parts to get at the meat.

More to the point I never saw artichokes being prepared except by TV cooks like Lydia Matticchio Bastianich and MaryAnn Esposito.

My confession:

Bless me father, I have tried preparing artichokes three times and all three times I have thrown out every bit of them without ever actually cooking them.

Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea culpa.

Today was the third time.

I found some nice big artichokes at Sprouts, 2 for $5. I was game for the challenge.

I came home with my artichokes and watched two videos of Lydia preparing artichokes and two other videos of other cooks preparing artichokes.

I decided on braised artichokes rather than stuffed.

I got a bowl of lemon water to keep them from going brown.

I pealed the outer leaves. Down to where they began to look pale green.

I trimmed the stem.

I peeled off some more leaves.

I cut off the top.

I cut them in half. They did not look like Lydia's artichokes.

I looked for the choke to remove. It was three times the size of the choke in Lydia's artichokes.

I removed the choke. The rest kind of fell apart.

I sliced what was left.

I watched another video.

The part I had left was the part that the other YouTube cook discarded along with the choke.

I threw out that part.

Then there was nothing left.

Which was exactly what I had left the last two times I tried preparing artichokes.

My recipe for artichokes: 

Take entire artichoke. Throw it in the compost bin. Peeling, trimming, removing choke: optional.

Artichokes are the vegetable from hell as far as I am concerned.

Turkey Tetrazzini alla Casa

My philosophy of cooking is that a recipe is merely a suggestion. 

Most everything I cook is del giorno (or d'jour for you French chefs) based on what I have on hand. Or alla Casa - the way I do it at my house.

We recently had Turkey Tetrazzini at a friends' home and it was delicious.  As I had leftover turkey from Christmas dinner, I figured I'd give it a try...sort of. I looked up recipes on the web. Ok, well, I use those as suggestions.

So I got a pot boiling for the fettuccine (had no egg noodles) and put some broccoli in the microwave to cook al dente. (We eat a lot of broccoli).

I just happened to have about a half pound of Baby Bella mushrooms (small Portabellas) so I sliced them up and put them into my cast iron skillet along with a sliced onion and two chopped cloves of garlic and plenty of olive oil. 

I also happened to have one small eggplant (I recalled Pasta alla Norma). So that got peeled, diced and sautéed in the skillet as well. As things got cooked to soft I added about two tablespoons of butter. (I never understand recipes that call for unsalted butter, then add salt) and let that melt into the mixture.

Olive oil, garlic, onion, mushrooms, eggplant

Then I added about two or three tablespoons of flour (I never measure) to coat the veggies and absorb the butter like doing a roux. I looked for an open bottle of white wine, alas I only had a little dry vermouth, about two fingers left in the bottle, so that got added and mixed in to begin the sauce. Then a large splash of 2% milk (cream is way too heavy for me). The sauce thickened. Added pieces of turkey meat to heat in the sauce.

We had a little take-out container of sour cream in the fridge, about three tablespoons, and that went in along with some more milk to thin the sauce as it was thickening.

I had about 1/3 of a container of ricotta cheese, so that too went into the sauce. A little salt and pepper and finally Turned off the heat and added a few tablespoons of grated parmigiano (or was that Romano cheese that I grated last week?)

Butter, Flour, Vermouth, Sour Cream, Milk, Ricotta

When the pasta was al dente I drained it over the broccoli in a large colander (to re-warm the broccoli) and returned it to the pot. I spooned the Tetrazzini sauce over it and tossed it well.

DINNER'S READY! 

More grated cheese at the table and Leon and I pigged out. Found some white wine in the garage (where it is cool).

I think we both went for thirds tonight. 

Served with Fettuccine and Broccoli

Homemade Ravioli

Have been wanting to make ravioli for some time and finally got motivated because I wanted to bring something special to a friend who recently lost his partner of 21 years. This dish is about as special as I can make. Ravioli are two steps above Lasagna and a step above Manicotti. Because they are labor/time intensive.

First, make some tomato sauce.

Use some cooked chopped Swiss chard or spinach to mix in with the ricotta cheese along with a little parmigiano or romano. This Swiss chard came from the garden.

I made 2, 3-egg batches of dough using three eggs a pinch of salt and 3 1/2 to 4 cups of flour for each batch. The amount of flour is more than is needed for the dough but is enough to make a crater for the eggs and enough so that as you incorporate the flour you reach a point where the dough just begins to come together.

Use a fork to mix the eggs into the flour. There will be flour left over when the dough comes together. It will be sticky and soft.

Work it with your hands adding flour and kneading for several minutes.  Divide the dough into smaller balls - about the size of an orange. Roll out one ball at a time, keeping the rest of the dough under a damp towel.

Using the old fashioned pasta machine, roll the dough into a very thin sheet. I use a long rolling pin (wooden dowel) and do the flip over technique to turn the dough over. Keep it lightly floured on both sides. It will stretch and not break under the pressure of the roller. Be patient, keep rolling until you get the desired thinness.

The flip: wrap the dough around the roller then unwrap it backwards/upside down. Roll it some more until the dough sheet is very thin. 1/8 inch or thinner. Mine could have been a tad thinner.

At this point you can make tagliatelle or fettuccine if you don't have fillings. To make ravioli...
Trim the dough sheet to a rectangle and divide into 2 smaller sheets (one slightly larger for the top).

Put about a teaspoon of ricotta filling onto the dough spacing the spoonfuls evenly.

 Brush the edges and the area between each mound with water.

Place the other half of the dough on top of the filling and press firmly around each mound of filling with  your fingers.

You can use a wooden spoon handle to make the edges of the ravioli pretty and uniform. Press firmly with the spoon handle.

Use a pastry cutter to divide the ravioli.

Place on a floured cookie sheet. If making ahead or making more than one meal, you can put all or some of them into the freezer for later use.

Clean up the mess. Don't throw out the scraps: trim them into pasta strips, then boil and top with butter or garlic/oil or sauce, or add to soup.

Cook the ravioli in salted boiling water for 10-12 minutes. Serve with tomato sauce, butter or other sauce and grated parmigiano reggiano or pecorino romano cheese. Wine is always a nice accompaniment.
Dinner's ready.

So scrumptious, I can almost taste that photo.