mmmm.....Gnocchi!

Here is what we had for dinner on our first full day back from our trip back to the States. I'd been flipping through the channels on the TV and came across the British cooking channel. I just caught the end of Nigella Lawson making a tasty sounding Pea sauce/soup, so this started the inspiration. I liked the sound of the Pea sauce, so I thought what could I make my own version with? Hmm.... Fish, perhaps Halibut? No.... I have trouble finding some that looks good here. Pasta? Nope, that's boring. Then it hit me, what about some home made Gnocchi. We had some incredible Gnocchi when we went to Italy a couple of months ago. 

     

So there you have it, something fresh (and pretty) with that homemade zing to it. Don't know if you have ever made your own pasta but it is a a pain in the rear! Gnocchi on the other hand, while very similar, is much simpler and far less messy by a far stretch. If you aren't familiar with Gnocchi, it is sort of a cross between pasta and dumplings. Common ingredients and processes are shared by both. So here we go!

         

Equipment:

Large mixing bowl, spatula, Large Stock-pot, Medium Pot, Cuisinart/Food Processor, Fork, Food Mill/Ricer (A Potato Masher is a suitable substitute), A bit of Tin Foil

      

Ingredients:

• Approx. 3 Lbs Russet Potatoes (peeled and cut into large pieces)
• 2 Cups White Flour
• 1 Tsp Salt
• Pinch of Nutmeg
• 1 Large Egg
• 1/2 Cup Parmesan (grated)
• Olive Oil
• 1 Tbsp Fresh Ground Black Pepper

    

• 2 Cups Frozen Peas (thawed)
• 1 Bulb Garlic
• Zest of 1 Lemon
• 1 1/2 Tbsp Mint (chopped)
• 1+ Cups Stock [Veggie or Chicken]
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:

-Preheat your oven to 350 F, 160 C degrees.

- Place Potatoes into stockpot with cold water and place on high heat, once the water comes to a boil reduce heat to a low-boil and cook for 30-45 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through.

-While the potatoes are cooking cut the top 1/4 of the garlic bulb off, douse with olive oil and wrap in foil. Then place in oven at 350 degrees F or 160 C.

-Once the Garlic has cooked and caramelized a bit (20-30 min) take out and let cool.

-Place peas, zest, mint, and all of the garlic (it will just squeeze out) in the processor. Give it it a whirl and then add some off the stock. Add stock till it has a nice sauce like consistency (like a smooth tomato sauce). Season with Salt & Pepper to taste then place sauce into the pot and put over low heat to warm.

-When the potatoes are done, remove from the water and let cool a bit and dry. 

-Use the Food Mill/Ricer or Masher to break all the potato up, then place it in the mixing bowl and form a well in the middle.

-Sprinkle the flour and Parmesan all over and crack the egg with salt and nutmeg into the well. Mix these together with the fork then slowly combine the flour and potato together. Then knead for a few minutes. Once it is all incorporated, roll into a large ball and remove from the bowl. Divide the big ball into several smaller ones (about 6 or so).

-Take one of the small balls and place on a clean and slightly floured surface. Roll the ball out into a long, even rope about 1/2-3/4 in. in diameter (use your hands).

-Cut the rope into 1/2 in pieces, then use your fork (cleaned) and roll the back over each piece for the traditional look. Start with the flat park of the fork and gently roll the piece towards you until you reach the end of the fork and set aside.

-Repeat this for each small ball. While you have been doing this, clean up the stockpot and fill it with water, salt it and bring to a slow boil again.

-Place the gnocchi in batches (depending on the size of your pot). They will be ready once they have floated to the top.

-Place some sauce into a bowl, top with Gnocchi and tuck in!

Champagne Tasting - Vinoteca@Bacco

Last night my fiance and myself went to a champagne tasting dinner at a local Italian eatery named Bacco. Every month they do a wine tasting paired with a four course meal. This was actually the second time that I'd come to this event and both times were excellent. The previous event was a Tuscan wine tasting and there were around 30 people enjoying the evening. Last night though was all Champagne with the exception of a Muscat to accompany dessert. 

Now you may wonder how can you have Champagne paired with every course. Sure as a aperitivo or paired with the traditional caviar or oysters but for the 1st, 2nd, and main course. Well they did it and it worked very well. Every wine tasting menu is created especially for that evening by their head Chef, Stephano. So it's not just a rearrangement of current menu items to fit the meal like you may find at other places. All the dishes were on the lighter side to complement their accompanying bubbly. Seafood was the highlight of the first two courses and the main was centered around quail. My favorite course was the first, which consisted of a Monkfish carpaccio with toasted sesame seeds and some shaved fennel. Touched with some rich olive oil and it was a real winner. Next was Seabass stuffed ravioli (all of their pasta is handmade every day) with a crayfish sauce. This was very tasty and my fiances favorite of the night. Our main course was roasted Quail over a champagne risotto with Porcini mushrooms and a creamy leek/saffron sauce. Last was a chilled dessert of passion fruit mousse with a pear and champagne jelly. Very refreshing and a great match with the Muscat.

             

All of the pairings last evening were superb and we even ended up purchasing a bottle of the Rose, which was served with the Quail, and the Muscat. That's the other great thing about this restaurant, you can purchase any of the wines/champagnes that you taste at the retail price. This evening didn't see as many people as the last, but it was a Monday evening and Half-term for schools was this week (that would be similar to Midterm in the States). The nice thing was that the owner (his name is Stephano too) and his wife were able to join everyone at the table for the meal. They are a extremely friendly and gracious couple who really make sure that you feel at home. Stefano's wife actually remembered me from the last tasting along with the fact that my fiance was out of town on business. All the staff are very personable too. This restaurant is worth a visit as everyone at the tastings will attest. Most of the people had been to at least several other wine tastings at Bacco before and were on a first name basis with the owners and many of the other customers. If you live around London this restaurant is worth the trek out to Richmond and if you are visiting for the first time put it on your 'to-do' list! If you can only make it once, I recommend finding out when the next tasting is and book it into your plans.

      

Full Menu with Champagne Pairings to follow

      

Bacco Website- www.bacco-restaurant.co.uk/

This Week's Sunday Roast - Brisket

I've been living in England for almost 5 months now (10 for my fiance) and we have tried to adjust to the british way of living and take on a few of it's cherished traditions. Trips to the pub are frequent (not really out of the norm for us any ways, but the pub is closer and there is more than one to choose from) and taking strolls to the shops or park are much more common for us now, but the one bit of culture we have really taken a liking to is the 'Sunday Roast'. This is a traditional meal usually eaten in the late afternoon and of course is centered around a roast of some sort. The roast may consist of a beef, lamb, or a bird of some kind and served with all the trimmings. We have taken a little liberty with this and added anything that spends a bit of time in the oven and we will have this meal at more of a 'dinnertime'. 

{Check out Wikipedia for details under Sunday Roast} 

The measurements of this recipe are approximate as we did a bit of improve with the ingredients we had on hand. So here is what we had. 

Equipment:

• Dutch Oven or Large ovenproof Pan with a Lid
• Something to Chop with
• Spoon (big one to stir with)

Ingredients:

• 2-2.5 Lbs Beef Brisket {try to get it with the fat top layer intact}
• 1 Large Yellow Onion (sliced)
• 2 Shallots (sliced)
• 5 Clove of Garlic (crushed)
• 1 Large Parsnip (peeled and rough chopped)
• 1/2 Fennel Bulb (sliced)
• 5 Sprigs of Thyme
• 1 Tbsp Peppercorns
• 1 Cup Tomato Sauce
• 5 Cups Chicken Stock
• 1/4 Thai Sweet Chili Sauce
• 1/2 Cup Cider Vinegar
• 1/3 Cup Brown Sugar
• Salt & Pepper
• 3 Tbls

Directions:

-Preheat your oven to 300 degrees F and heat your pan with the oil over med/hi heat

-Season your meat and sear both sides, start with the fatty side first to render some fat

-After browning the meat remove and add the parsnips, onion, shallots and fennel

-Get a little color on the veggies then add the rest of the ingredients and return the meat to the pan

-Bring the liquid to a boil, cover and place in the oven for 2 1/2 hours

-When done and super tender, remove from the oven, take off the lid and let rest for 5 minutes

-Slice up the meat and serve with some of the veggies and liquid (if you want you can take some of the liquid and reduce it down to more of a gravy consistency)

Winter: The Perfect Time for Stew  

The weather has been typical for early February in England and you guest right, it's a bit cold. So what better to have for dinner then some hearty stew. So after a trip to our local butcher (I really suggest searching one out and making friends) and the produce stand down the street, all that was needed was some homemade stock from the icebox and we were ready to cook. This a great recipe when you don't want to leave the house and slaving over a hot stove in the kitchen for a tasty bite isn't part of the agenda. It does take some time to cook, but don't worry all the work is in the beginning. This will leave you free to do as you wish for a couple of hours with little tending needed. Sit down and relax with a good book or catch up on all those emails filling up the Inbox. Before you know it, pleasant aromas will be tempting you back to the kitchen for a taste.

Equipment:

• Large Stock pot
• Your favorite Chef's Knife
• Something to stir with
• Kitchen Twine

Ingredients:

• 2 Lb. of Beef (Rump or Shoulder) -cut in to 2 in cubes
• 2 Medium Yellow Onion -roughly chopped
• 4 Large Cloves of Garlic  -small dice
• 3 Medium Carrots -peeled and chopped
• 1 Large Parsnip -peeled and chopped
• 4 Celery Ribs -medium dice
• 3 Large Potatoes -peeled and cut into 2 in cubes
• 1 Cup Peas
• 5 Sprigs Thyme
• 1 Bay Leaf
• 4 Sprigs Parsley (Italian/Flat Leaf)
• 10 Cups Chicken or Beef Stock or Combo
• 1/2 Cup Red Wine (something you would drink, but not the Good Stuff)
• 1 Can Whole Peeled Tomatoes
• Salt & Pepper
• 2 Tbls Flour
• 3 Tbls Oil or Butter
  

    

Directions:

   

-Heat Oil/Butter in Stockpot over Medium heat

-Season Beef  with S & P then toss with flour, shake off excess flour

-Brown Beef in batches (Overcrowding the pot will inhibit the browning)

-Remove the Beef and and saute onion for 5 minutes or until it starts to brown

-Then add in the garlic and cook for a minute

-Add in wine and deglaze*, make sure to get all the bits off the bottom

-Add Stock, Beef and Tomatoes with juices (crush these by hand) reduce the heat to a slow simmer

-Then tie the Parsley, Thyme and Bay leaf together with twine, leave some extra twine

-Hang the bundle in the liquid and tie the end of the string to the handle of the pot

-Cook for 1 hour, then add the Carrot, Parsnips, Celery and Potatoes

-Cook for another hour or until everthing is nice and tender

-Add the peas at the end for 2 minutes (if frozen) or 4 (if fresh)

      

Ladle some up in a big bowl and enjoy! (don't forget to remove the bundle of herbs!)

        

* -Deglazing is the simple processs of adding liquid, such as wine or stock, to a pan that you have just browned meat, poultry or even seafood in. Doing this makes sure that you gat all the good tasty bits that are left behind. Those are called the Fond

Let's Get Started in the Raw (writing that is)

So this being the first post to my first blog, it will most likely ramble on a bit. I have several reasons for starting this blog. First and foremost it will serve as a means for me to share both the culinary knowledge I have acquired so far and the my experiences involving all things food (and drink of course) with friends, family, and whoever else that might be interested. Other reasons are as a way for me to record and further explore my most favorite subject, food of course, and perhaps to promote myself as a member of the ever increasing Personal Chef movement.

It has taken me a while to make this first post as I'm sure is the case with many first time bloggers. I wasn't quite sure where to start and I was afraid of making a mistake. That second reason is quite silly if you think about it. If I had waited for the site to be perfect and everything that I wrote to follow suite then this would never happen. So today as I was working on the details of this site I decided to dive right in. Why wait and why deliberate? I started this so I could write about what I know and push myself further in my career of choice. So here we are, me rambling with tons of grammatical errors and you, who probably aren't even reading this, wondering if this is truly a good way of wasting your time at home or possibly even work.

Well, enough of all that. Food is the basis of this blog and most everything that will be written or linked to it will be related in some way or another. First off, plan on lots of recipes and pictures to go along with them. I am extremely visual as which can be found from my choice of cookbooks. About 95% of them will have great big glossy pictures of the food featured in the recipes. I mean do you really want to cook something that you have no idea what it is supposed to look like? As far as I'm concerned the look of the food follows very closely to what it tastes like. Bad looking food, even if it is tasty isn't always that great. Where a dish that looks great and tastes good can comes off a lot better. Sorry about the tangent, but get used to it. As I get better at this I hope to improve on staying 'on task'. Others items of interest I hope to share are restaurant reviews, cookbooks and food writing, kitchen gadgets (I love em'), nutrition, traveling through regional food, local pubs and micro-brews, and anything else related to food.

I hope this is a start to something fun, informative, and wondrous for us all. Come along on the journey of life through the food that we eat. Please feel free to ask questions and make comments.