What happens when young meets up with mature in the kitchen...

I watch Food Network off and on, most often when it's cold.  Last week I came across and episode of Giada and her Aunt Raffy duking it out in the kitchen.  Competing forces of young vs. mature, formal schooling vs. family cooking methods handed down for generations, modern twists vs. never touched family recipes, it was very entertaining.  It begins with a glass of wine, of which neither lady denied.
I would do anything to cook with my mother again.  I was often in the kitchen with her preparing meals for the 9 of us when I lived at home.  As I moved about the country, when we were lucky enough to visit one another, we each took time to make something new or something the other had not had before.  Our visits were always something special in the kitchen.  When my mother and I talked on the phone our conversations virtually always turned to food and neither grew tired of it.  I rarely messed with old time favorites but if and when I did, my father always accused (accuses) me of messing them up.  Naturally after 6 years of food classes from 6-12 grade, a 4 year degree in Food Service and 15 years of food and beverage related hotel work at no less than 50 hours a week and often 60-70 hours, I feel a bit qualified to do so.  I suppose our station in life rarely changes among our family members no matter how accomplished.  I am not sure why that is, but it is.
That identical dynamic is at work when it comes to the kitchen and you can see it unfold on tv before your very eyes when Giada and Aunt Raffy are toiling away.  Together, they made a Rollatini that looked wonderful so I made it the other night.  After reading some of the comments on the recipe, most of which called for more flavor in the way of garlic, I re-read the recipe.  I surmised that it was not garlic they longed for, as there is clearly a reason the Italians didn't put it in there, but perhaps something more subtle and along the line of sauteed minced shallots.   I added that flavor instead and the result was delicious.  I will certainly make this many times in the future.  If you know how to make your own pasta, then this recipe is for you!
From start to finish this took about an hour.  First make your favorite fresh pasta.  I made my using flour, semolina flour and wheat flour.  You need enough to roll out a 12" circle 1/8" thick.  If you have too much pasta, cut it in half and make 2 rollatinis.  While the pasta is resting under a damp cloth, heat water in something big enough to add the rollatini without bending it.

For the filling, heat a small skillet over medium heat and cook 1 Large Minced Shallot in 1 Tbl Butter.  To a bowl, add 4 oz  Ricotta Cheese, 1 Egg Yolk, 2 Tbl Olive Oil, 1 Tbl Softened Butter, 1/3 Cup Parmesan, 1/2 Cup Chiffonade Fresh Spinach, 1/2 tsp Salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, and the shallots.  Roll out pasta to as thin as possible, 1/8".  Brush the outer 1/2" edge with an Egg Wash.  Spoon filling on pasta and spread evenly with an offset spatula without going all the way to the edge.
Roll tightly and then roll the rollatini in a clean kitchen towel.  Tie the ends with string.  Add Rollatini to the simmering water and cook for 20 minutes, turning it over half way through the cooking process.  Remove with tongs.  Let rest for 5 minutes, then remove the towel to further cool for another 5 minutes.  It should be cool enough to handle.  Preheat Broiler.
Generously butter a sheet pan.  Using a serrated knife such as a bread knife and without too much pressure, cut 1/2" slices and shingle them in 3 rows.  Brush with 2 Tbl Melted Butter and top with Parmesan Cheese.  Broil for 3-5 minutes until golden brown.  Serve with your favorite Marinara Sauce.  Raise your glass to toast the Giada's and Aunt Raffy's of the world!

Roasting Turkey 911

Did you ever take for granted your elder's ability to roast a turkey that is always perfect?  Then, the rude awakening, you find yourself on your own for the first time and realize you have no clue how to do it?

Get a good sturdy roasting pan.  Mine has a rack and it reduces the cooking time because it allows heat to move around the bird.  Decide if you are going to stuff it or not and if so, what will you stuff it with.
Make sure you buy either a fresh bird (it's never been frozen) or allow for ample thawing time.  These things are frozen solid and require 3 days in a refrigerator to thaw.  If you try to cook a frozen turkey I can guarantee it will be raw in the middle and the parts that are cooked will be dry.  Remember when you remove the packaging to rinse the turkey inside and out and to remove all the things inside.  There is normally a neck stuffed in the main cavity and there is a cavity in between the wings and it contains the plastic bag with the giblets.
Determine, who is going to carve it, on what and with what, make certain the knife is sharp.
Work out a time table.  First, determine what time you want to eat.  Back out 20-30 minutes for carving and another 30 minutes allowing for the bird to rest.  In essence, it needs to come out about 50 minutes - 1 hour before you want to eat.
Stuffed and roasted on a rack, a turkey cooks for 18 minutes a pound.  Stuffed without a rack, 20 minutes a pound.  I tend to round down the pounds before calculating because over cooked turkey is dry and as a leftover it's not that great.  A perfectly cooked turkey on the other hand is delicious during the feast and for all the leftovers.

Once you are ready to cook the bird, Preheat oven to 325.  While the oven is heating, butter the outside of the bird without double dipping anything that touches the bird to retouch the butter.  Don't be too particular about spreading the butter, in the end it melts and it's used for basting.  Salt and Pepper the outside on of the bird.  I found Dried Sage this year and sprinkled a light amount on the outside.

With 2 hours left to cook, add 2 Medium Onions cut into Quarters to the roasting pan.  You can separate each quarter into 2 pieces, but don't separate all the layers or they will burn.  With 30 minutes to go Add the Giblets to the roasting pan for the giblet lovers.  Giblets don't agree with me, so I remove them from the pan before making gravy.

Pictured 1 1/2 hours into it.  Baste every 45 minutes or so.  As the skin darkens, loosely tent a piece of foil covering the skin to prevent further browning.  This may have to be done after about 1 1/2 - 2 hours of roasting.

I will continue to add notes on cooking times.  It is very important to record what you did and how it turned out so adjustments can be made for next time.

For today my plan is to roast a 14.85 pound turkey, stuffed and on a rack for 4 hour, 12 minutes.  Perfecto!!  That cooking time was just perfect.  17 pound turkey, stuffed and roasted on rack,  roasted for 4 hrs 45 min, rested for 40 minutes, perfect!
Serve with all of your family favorites!

Miniature Apple Purses

So simple! So delicious!  I love these because they are small, 4 bites.  When served with an assortment of miniature desserts, your guests can try a variety!
I made up this recipe just this afternoon.  I used 2 apples and 1 sheet of puff pastry and made 16 mini purses.    I have a bit of the filling left over and will use it to top pancakes tomorrow or the next day.
Here is my Apple Purse Recipe.
Make sure the puff pastry sheets are thawed.  I used 1 Sheet of Pepperidge Farms Puff Pastry Sheets which come 2 to a box.  They are found in the freezer section.  Preheat oven to 400.  Peel, section, and dice 2 Golden Delicious Apples into tiny cubes about 1/4" x 1/4".  In a saucepan over medium heat, melt 4 Tbl UnSalted Butter and add 1/4 Cup Brown Sugar.  Once bubbly, add 1/4 tsp Cinnamon, 1/2 tsp Vanilla, 2 Pinches of Salt and 10 grinds of Fresh Nutmeg.  Add Diced Apples.  Cook until they appear to be getting soft but hold their shape, about 3-4 minutes.  The mixture should be just about to bubble without boiling.  Add 1 Tbl Flour and cook for 1 more minute.  Remove from heat and set aside.

Roll out Pastry keeping its' square shape.  Cut into quarters.  Working with 1 quarter at a time, cut into quarters again.  Roll each quarter so you have a piece about 3" square.  Place about 1 Tbl of apple filling in the center of each piece of pastry.  Wet the edges with Heavy Cream.  This will act as glue. Bring up the corners and sort of pinch the entire thing closed.  Gently tie with string.  Place purses on a light colored sheet pan allowing 3" of space between them.  Brush the outside with Heavy Cream.  Dust with Sanding Sugar.
Place in oven and bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.  Pictured they are baking.  Let cool for 10 minutes before trying to remove them from the sheet pan.  They should lift easily.  Can be made in advance and reheated for 7 minutes in a 350 degree oven.  Place on a warm platter to serve.

Russian Blini

My son did a heritage project at school.  He was born in Russia and the research proved to be very educational.   Today was the feast where the students brought food from the country they reported on.  I have been wanting to make blini pancakes for some time now and decided to make them for this event.  (At the same time I made the blini pancakes, I taught my friend C how to make scones.  Her son reported on England.)
This a neat yeast batter that is made in steps over a period of hours, though time consuming, the finished result is delicious!

Instead of traditional sour cream and caviar, I chose to serve them with strawberries and whipped cream.
I have been to Russia 4 times and have had blinis on every trip.  On the last trip I began to really wonder how they were made because they have tiny air pockets and are not a "quick batter" which is leavened by adding baking soda, baking powder or air.  They were pliable like a crepe but just to be sure it wasn't the same thing, twice at dinner, I ordered crepes for dessert and I was served crepes, not blini.  I believe Gourmet's recipe is as close as you may get and it is indeed made with yeast.  If you make other thinned out batters then you are actually making crepes and if they look like the pancakes you get in the US and the batter is made the same way, you are simply making  the pancakes you are familiar with.  Here is the blini recipe straight from The Gourmet Cookbook.
In a large bowl, stir together 1 package of Dry Active Yeast (2 1/2 tsp), 1/4 Cup Warm Water (105-115 degrees) and 1 tsp Sugar.  Let it become bubbly for 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, in a pot, warm 1/2 Cup Milk and 1 Tbl UnSalted Butter until warm (105-115 degrees).  Add 1/2 Cup Buckwheat Flour, 1 Tbl Sugar and warmed milk to the yeast mixture and combine vigorously with a wooden spoon.
Cover with plastic wrap and either let rise in a warm place for 2 hours or for a more pungent blini, let rise overnight in the refrigerator.
Again, warm 1/2 Cup Milk to 105-115 degrees.   Separate an egg reserving the white in a bowl.  This will be beaten later.  Add to the batter the Milk, 1/2 Cup regular Flour, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1 Egg Yolk.  Using a wire whip, combine for 1 minute.  Cover and let rise for 1 hour.  With 10 minutes to go, using a hand mixer, beat 6 Tbl Heavy Cream until soft peaks.  Completely wash the beaters.  Beat the Egg White until stiff peaks begin to hold.  Fold the beaten cream into the batter.  Fold the white into the batter.  Heat a griddle and using butter cook 3" blini pancakes.  You can keep these warm on a platter until ready to serve.  Serve with caviar, sour cream, smoked salmon or just simply with berries and sour cream or whipped cream.
pree-YAHT-nah-vah ah-pee-TEE-ta!! (bon appetit)

Potatoes 3 Ways

The kids will be out of school soon and company will visit in the coming holidays.  I decided to try something I haven't done before.  Recently,we have bought baked potato salad at some of the local grocery stores and it's good but the potatoes have a texture as if they were either under baked or cooked in a way other than baking.  I decided to buy a $3  5lb Bag of Russet Potatoes and bake the entire bag.  There were 11 potatoes in the bag and they were fairly consistent in size.
On the first night, we had Baked Potatoes with Sour Cream and Grated Cheese.  I am going to make Home Fries with the 2 largest potatoes.  With the remaining 6, I will make a Loaded Baked Potato Salad of my own.  I plan to add Sour Cream, Grated Cheese, Crumbled Bacon and Scallions to the potato salad.  They were all very good and think of the price.  I bought 8oz Grated Cheese, 16 oz Sour Cream, 1 lb Bacon (of which I used 1/2), 1 bunch of Scallions (you can use Chives), and Canola Oil for the Home Fries.  What a deal!

Super Simple Mozzarella and Tomato Hors D'oeuvre

I bought what was called "Mozzarella Pearls".  I added them to a flat platter.  Using 1 Pint Grape Tomatoes, either keep them whole or cut them in half.  Add 1/4 Cup Good Quality Olive Oil.  Add a Few Grinds of Pepper and a few Pinches of Kosher Salt.  Top with Chiffonade cut Basil just before serving.  Serve at room temperature with frilled tooth picks.

Zucchini Craisin Muffins Recipe

I made up this batter recipe for Zucchini Bread.  I adapted that recipe for muffins.
Preheat oven to 375.  Grease 2 muffin pans or use muffin liners.  In a bowl, mix together 3 Cups Flour, 2/3 Cups Packed Brown Sugar, 1/3 Cup Sugar, 12oz Craisins, 2 tsp Baking Powder, 1/2 tsp Baking Soda, 1 tsp Kosher Salt, a touch of Cardamom, and a few grinds of fresh Nutmeg.  Hand mix with a wire whip to combine ingredients.  Grate 2 Medium sized Zucchini either on a grater box or with a mandolin.  Add to bowl.  Set aside.  In a 2 cup measuring cup begin stacking these ingredients, it'll save on the cleanup!  1/2 Cup Canola Oil, 1/4 Cup Milk, 1/4 Cup Sour Cream (add sour cream to the cup until line comes to 1 Cup), and 2 Eggs.  Mix with a fork until the egg is broken up and the sour cream is distributed.  Add the wet ingredients to the bowl and mix with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until just combined.  The batter will seem a bit sticky and possibly slightly dry but not to worry, zucchini is a watery vegetable and will make it all good in the end!

Scoop batter using a 1/4 Cup Scoop into the muffin pan.  Makes 22 muffins.  I always leave a corner open on each pan in order to handle the pan without destroying a muffin.  Place in oven and bake for 18-20 minutes.  You can serve this with Orange Flavored Cream Cheese by combining the Zest of 1 Orange into 8 oz softened Cream Cheese.  Serve muffins warm.

Tilapia Topped with Hand Picked Crabs and Lemon Butter Sauce

This was so delicious topped with local hand picked crabs.  The crabs were cooked perfectly with the right amount of seasoning.  The Talapia was cooked perfectly with the right amount of lemon and butter in the sauce.
Heres what I did.
Buy 6 Crabs.  These came from Mandeville Seafood Market and were $20 a dozen, not bad.  Hand pick crabs.  If you don't know how to do this, buy local crabmeat already picked (and hopefully seasoned.)
First, some prep.  Heat water for pasta.  Rinse and pat dry 1 Tilapia Fillets per person.  Zest and juice 1 Lemon.  Mix 2 tsp Corn Starch with 2 tsp Chicken Broth and set aside.  Cut 1/2 Stick UnSalted Butter into 4 pieces.
Heat empty skillet over medium heat until thoroughly heated.  Add salt and pasta to water.  Add 1 Tbl Oilve Oil and 1 Tbl UnSalted Butter to skillet.  Add fish fillets to skillet and cook until just done turning only once.  The second side will take slightly less time than the first.  Remove the fish from the pan, place on a plate, and cover loosely with foil.
Make Sauce.  Add Lemon Zest and cook for 10 seconds.  Add 2 Tbl Dry Vermouth and cook for 30 seconds.  Add Lemon Juice and cook for 30 seconds until it appears thick.  Add Corn Starch Mixture and 1/4 Cup Chicken Broth. Cook for another minute or 2 allowing it to bubble gently.  Turn off heat and add butter.  Swirl gently.  Add Crab Meat.  Plate up pasta and fish and top with the crabmeat sauce.  Serve with a salad, a buttery white wine, and crusty bread.