September 2007 Archives

Or, alternatively titled... A Dessert.  With Booze.

So, there's this lovely little stand at the Ballard Farmer's Market.

Well, ok, there's quite a few of them.

But, this one sells Ice Cream.

Y'know... you scream, I scream, we all scream for Ice Scream.

This past weekend, while we walked by and I, the diabetic, looked longingly at the sign, I saw 'Cucumber Sorbet'.

And I was floored.

See, I eat cucumbers.

Whole.

Well, not whole, but, I'd cut off both ends, rub it [1] like I was taught, and just start gnawing.

So, I had to get some (and sample the sweet basil ice cream too... oh. my. god.).

It was divine.  And it was almost more of a cucumber ice than a sorbet, which I always see as a bit smoother.

But, it needed something.  Well, ok, it didn't, but....

Turns out, that something was booze.

There's this gin.  Hendrick's Gin.  When making gin and tonics, you should add cucumber instead of lime.  It's a perfectly lovely gin.  But, well, what a waste of cucumber.

Now, this sorbet, it'd make an outstanding amuse-bouche.  But, that's not what I wanted to do.

I wanted to make a mixed drink.

A gin and tonic.

With a scoop of cucumber sorbet.

It.

Was.

Fantastic.[3]

In fact, here's a lovely shot of it.

The perfect use of the cucumber sorbet.

In fact....

I think I'll have another one.  I got time.

And no, I don't want to know what the sorbet might be doing to my blood sugar.

[1] The cucumber[2], you perv.

[2] The FRUIT, you PERV.

[3] Patricia disagreed.  She didn't like the diet tonic we used.

We've branched out a lot over the past two years. John now eats sausage, I eat a lot more vegetables than I used to, and we both eat mushrooms (well, morels at least).

I've liked eggplant parmesan for several years now, but that's not the same as liking eggplant. After all, in eggplant parmesan, the eggplant is basically just a conveyance for sauce and cheese. What doesn't taste good with sauce and cheese?

Today, while browsing Slashfood, I came across a new eggplant recipe. Wouldn't you know it? I had two eggplants sitting in the fridge. So, onto the experiment.

Ingredients

• 2 local, organic eggplants
• Organic light mayo
• Wheat germ (a few tablespoons)
• Parmesan cheese (a few tablespoons)
• Salt and pepper

Directions

The directions couldn't be easier. Peel and slice the eggplant and lay it on a foil lined oven sheet. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven and brush each slice of eggplant with a thin layer of mayo. Then sprinkle the whole dish with wheat germ, salt, pepper, and grated parmesan cheese.

Broil until the cheese is brown and crispy.

This was quite good. We both felt, however, that this would have been even better with some sort of dip. Hmmm... maybe with say a tomato sauce? While that would be ironic, I do think I will use this method the next time I want to make eggplant parmesan as well. It would be a lot easier than breading the eggplant and a lot healthier than frying it.

Next time I'll also brush the foil with a thin layer of olive oil. The eggplant stuck to the foil just a bit.

Here's a close-up. 

 The story goes that years ago in Napa, a woman was making ravioli. She ran out of pasta, however, before she ran out of filling. So she rolled the filling into little balls, then rolled them in flour, and boiled them just like you would ravioli. Malfatti is Italian for 'badly made'. They were an occasional treat for me growing up in Napa, CA. There are two places in Napa that sell them and people will sometimes line up outside the stores with their large sauce pots and wait for their order.

Now, as you might know, the love of my life is diabetic. He can't tolerate a lot of carbohydrates so pasta is generally out. But I'm Italian and pasta sauce is a staple for me.

As you might also know, we're planning a wedding. A wedding where we will be cooking for our guests. Cooking for 40 people requires us to make food that reheats well. Malfatti should reheat well in a crockpot, it's low carb, and should be relatively easy to make ahead of time. So here's my first attempt at malfatti.

 Ingredients

• 15 oz ricotta cheese
• 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 2 eggs
• 2 bunches spinach
• A handful of basil
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs

Directions

Steam the spinach and press out all of the water. Then press out all of the water again. Now press out all of the water again. Yes, really. Getting as much of the water as possible out of the spinach is absolutely essential.

Chop the spinach and the basil and mix it with the rest of the ingredients. The mixture should be semi-sticky but relatively dry. It should feel a bit like thin cookie dough.

Sprinkle some flour on a plate or a counter. Take small walnut sized balls of filling and roll them in the flour. The malfatti I made tonight were round, but the ones I grew up with were longer and thinner. I'd recommend the thinner version.

All you need to do now is boil some water in a large pot. Drop the malfatti in and wait for them to float. Once they float, they are done. Remove with a slotted spoon and serve with pasta sauce.

I do need to vary the filling mix a bit, but we just might have found another dish for our wedding.

So a few weeks ago my manager challenged me to a pie baking contest. This was serious business. No one challenges my pie baking ability! No one! So I searched, I planned, I plotted, and I finally decided to just go with a standard Blueberry Pie.

Now, I should tell you that as I was about to pull my pie out of the oven, my manager conceded. Yes, that's right. He gave up before he'd even seen my pie. Wimp. Well, not really. Apparently, he was just buried with work.

While he may have conceded, I'm still damn proud of my pie. So... what do you think?

 If you're wondering what the heck is on the top of the pie, it's the logo for a product we're working on. I figured I had to do something extra special and over the top for this contest, so I punched our logo into the pie. So here's the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 5 cups Alm Hill Gardens organic Blueberries
• 2 cups plus 3 tbsp flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup of Organic Valley churned butter
• Pinch of cinnamon, allspice, and cardamom
• Water

Directions

Pie crust is a delicate thing. While you can just mix butter, flour, salt, and water, the trick is working the dough just enough to bind everything together and not so much as to break down the gluten in the mix. Overmixing a pie crust will make it chewy as opposed to light and fluffy.

In a large mixing bowl, mix the 2 cups of flour, salt, and a pinch of the various spices you want to use. Cut the butter into chunks and mix it in. You want the mixture to look like flour covered peas. I used my Kitchenaid to do this. Once that's done, keep the mixer on and slowly add water, a tablespoon at a time. Make sure the water is cold!

I usually mix in 4-5 tablespoons of water with the mixer and then switch to working the dough by hand. Dough should feel soft, supple, and smooth. As it warms under your touch, it will smooth out. I can't really describe it, but you'll know when to stop.

At this point, you'll have a perfect dough ball. Take a sharp knife and cut the ball in half. Roll out the bottom half and lay it over a pie plate. Prick the bottom with a fork half a dozen times and then smooth some cornstarch over the bottom. This will help absorb some of the juices from the fruit and keep the bottom crust solid.

Next mix 5 cups of blueberries, 1/2 a cup of sugar, and 2-3 tbsp of flour in a bowl.  Pour into the pie crust.

Roll out the other half of the dough and lay it over the top of the pie. Tuck the edges of the dough together and press down with thumbs to seal the top and bottom crusts together.

Now you can decorate. You need to prick the top crust with a fork or cut some designer holes in it to let the inside of the pie breathe. I like to sprinkle sugar over the top crust before I bake the pie.

Cover the edges of the pie with foil and bake it for 25 minutes at 375. Remove the foil and bake for another 20-25 minutes. That's it. You have yourself a pie!