Cocoa and the Ivory Coast

I will update my recipe from tomorrow today, as well as a new recipe. Until I do, here is a piece from NPR talking about the political turmoil in the Ivory Coast, as well as how it will effect the prices of cocoa. The Ivory Coast is the largest exporter of cocoa.

http://www.npr.org/2011/01/27/133264669/Ivory-Coast-Political-Crisis-Update

Day 3- Gnocchi Fritti

Or, fried potato gnocchi with black truffle Gorgonzola sauce with fresh pears and pancetta.

This is another recipe from the book Cafe Firenze: Food and Drink Recipes from the Tuscan Sons. The recipe called for Prosciutto, but I substituted pancetta because I had some left over from last night. This was my first time making a successful batch of gnocchi- I guess the tips from Fabio's class paid off! We just need to get a meat grinder so that we can mash the potatoes a little bit more efficiently.

To make the gnocchi, my little sister and I took 10 potatoes peeled them and then boiled them for about 45 minutes. Its important to use Russet potatoes, because they have a lower starch content. Starchier potatoes will make the gnocchi chewy. We used a potato masher to mash the potatoes to make them light and fluffy, but Fabio suggests using a meat grinder. We then added a pinch each of nutmeg, salt and pepper. We added in 2 small-ish eggs and 8oz of melted butter. We mixed all of this together using my fancy green mixer, Amelia. (Yes, I named my mixer. Judge me.)

Then we put the potato mixture on a sheet pan, and let it sit in the fridge over night. This is important because it draws some of the moisture, and will create a better dough.

Today I took out the potatoes, and split them into two batches. I put the first batch into the mixture and added about 1.5 cups of flour half a cup at a time. I can't quite give you an exact measurement for the flour, but you can tell when you've added enough if when you squeeze some of the dough between your thumb and forefinger, none gets stuck to either appendage.

Now, separate the dough into smaller batches, take one of the smaller sections and roll it out into a snake-like shaped piece of dough. Use a butter knife to cut 1/2 inch pieces. Viola! Gnocchi.

To fry it, heat oil in a pan, and drop in a few gnocchi at a time. You can tell its time to turn them over when the sides start to brown.

Next, make the black truffle gorgonzla sauce. Take out about 8 ounces of Italian Gorgonzola. Fabio says to use creamy, but I could only find crumbled and it turned out just fine. Anywho, heat 1/2 cup of heavy cream in a saucepan over low heat until it starts to lightly boil. BE CAREFUL! Milk burns so, so quickly. Remove the cream from the heat, and add it to the gorgonzola. Add 1 tbsp black truffle oil. This stuff is really expensive. We're talking $20.00 for a can that's smaller than a soda can. I had some left over from another recipe I made, and I do think it was important to the dish. But I'm just warning about the expense!

I then fried up some of the pancetta, put it on the plate, then added some of the gnocchi. I arranged a few slices of pear on top of that, then drizzled the sauce over it. I also added some of the left over balsamic glaze from last night, just because I adore it, and would eat it with a spoon.

Taco Bell Lawsuit

This is an interesting article I came across in the Huffington Post. It is basically talking about a lawsuit that was recently brought against Taco Bell, claiming that the chain does not have the right to call what it puts in its products "beef." Apparently, what many Americans (or, mainly drunken frat boys who have nowhere else to go at 3am) find to be delicious meaty goodness is actually only 36% beef. The rest is fillers and binders.

The more I learn about the food industry, the more disgusted I become. I think that is a big reason I've decided to take pride in cooking my own food. There is a certain type of power you feel when you know exactly what is going into your food. We are so disconnected from what we eat now. Even today when I prepared the prawns with the pancetta, I contemplated how disassociated I was from the animals that I was cooking for dinner. I tried to give them as much respect as possible; the process reminded me of why I prefer to be a vegetarian.

I've recently been struggling with eating meat or not eating meat. There have been a few health issues I've been dealing with, and the doctors have encouraged me to at least add some meat into my diet. And then there is the culinary aspect; how am I to be able to properly prepare meat for others if I'm not sure what it is supposed to taste like? I'm being pulled in two different directions, and am not sure which I am going to lean more towards.

At the very least, I have made a comitment to myself to know exactly what goes into my food- whole, healthy ingredients from the earth and a lot of love.

Day Two- Gamberoni in Camicia

Or, pancetta wrapped jumbo prawn filled with gorgonzola cheese, served with creamy polenta spinach and balsamic glaze.

This recipe is from the book Cafe Firenze Cookbook: Food and Drink Recipes from the Tuscan Sons by Fabio Viviani and Jacopo Falleni. I went to the El Toro meat market for the first time today to gather some of the ingredients. The first thing I was struck by was the smell- metallic and spicy. The meat counter is long, and filled with every type of protein I think I've ever seen. It was interesting.

Essentially, you take jumbo prawns (I used about 16) and slice them down the middle. You fill them with sharp, crumbled gorgonzola cheese.

You then wrap the pancetta (thinly sliced) around the stuffed prawns. It takes about one or two slices of pancetta to wrap the shrimp.

Cook these until pancetta is crisp, about 4-6 minutes on each side.

To make the balsamic glaze, take about one half cup of balsamic vinaigrette and reduce by about half. Add in one half cup of corn syrup. Stir until mixed, and set aside.

To make the polenta, chop fresh herbs (rosemary, sage) and let them cook with one half stick of butter for about six minutes. Then add one cup of milk and one cup of cream. Bring this to a simmer, then add one cup of polenta. Let this cook until the polenta is creamy, yet firm. Add 4oz of Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper to taste.

It looks rather pretty, and I'm glad I got to make a recipe from Fabio's book. Yay for cooking. Hope you're all doing well!

Day 1- Popovers

So I guess today I'm kind of cheating. I'm going to count a recipe that I made today in my Baking Basics class. I really wanted to start the blog today, but didn't get home until 10:30 after classes and babysitting, so I figured I'd consider these popovers my recipe for the day. The recipe is from Wayne Gisslen's Professional Cooking, page 964. It should be noted that this is a professional cookbook with recipes for commercial kitchens. The recipes are scaled accordingly.

Ingredients

1 lb eggs

2 lb milk

11/4 tsp salt

2 oz melted butter

1 lb bread flour

(Nutrition info per popover: calories, 70; Protein 3 grams; Fat, 3 grams, Cholesterol, 60 mg; Carbohydrates, 8 grams; Sodium, 95 mg)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

An important tip not mentioned in the book: before you start making your batter, put your muffin tins or popover tins in the oven in order to get them hot. This will help make popovers that will maintain their shape better, and aids in the cooking process.

1. Beat eggs, milk and salt with whip attachment until well blended. Add melted fat.

2. Replace whip with paddle. Mix in flour until completely smooth.

3. Grease the popover or muffin tins. If using muffin tins, only use every other one, as the popovers need plenty of room to expand. Fill each cup about two-thirds full.

4. Bake popovers for 10 minutes at 450, then reduce to 375 and bake for an additional 20-30 minutes. How long you cook them depends on your own personal preference. The longer the cook, the more stable they will be, but you begin to lose the doughy centers as baking time goes on.

5. Do not remove the popovers until you're sure they won't collapse.

Also not mentioned in the book, make sure to pierce the side of the popovers immediately after removing them from the oven. This will allow steam to release, and keep you from ending up with a soggy end product. After piercing them, remove them immediately from the pan and allow them to cool.

I had never even hear of a popover before today. They remind me of a cream puff, really. Well, the pastry shell anyway. They came out pretty well, with a soft almost creamy inside. Delicious.

Also, I wanted to post the picture that I took with Top Chef's Fabio Viviani. My sister and I took a cooking class with him this Sunday at his restaurant Cafe Firenze in Moorpark, CA. He was so wonderful, I had a great time. We learned to make fresh pasta and gnocchi.... perhaps those recipes will pop up here soon.

Well I suppose that's all for now, folks. I hope you all have a lovely evening :]