The Perfect Summer Dessert

My Aunt Dorothy is one of the most interesting women I know.  Really, she is.  She had (and continues to have) a fabulous career in advertising, travels the world and is a phenomenal cook.  Actually, both she and Ed are fabulous cooks.  I love hearing about their latest culinary adventures - both domestic and abroad.  So the other day when she emailed me a recipe for Apricot Gelato (or Gelato di Albicocche) that she had tweaked a bit, I knew I just had to try it. 

Dorothy's Texas-twist on an Italian treat ... using Fredericksburg peaches in place of the apricots.  Brilliant! And incredibly convenient for me considering Mom just brought me half a bushel of those juicy gems.  It's as if the planets aligned and the heavens are willing me to make this gelato.  Who am I to resist Fate?

In the process of making this gelato I learned the coolest trick for removing the skins of peaches. I've always just blanched and shocked the peaches and then peeled the skins off in frustratingly little pieces. Turns out there is a much simpler way to do it. Cut the peaches in half, remove the pits, place them cut-side down on a pan and broil them for about 12 minutes. After they cool a few minutes the skins come right off in huge sheets! (Thanks, Aunt Dorothy, for that tip)

Although there were several steps involved, none of them were particularly difficult and there is a lot of hands-off time in this recipe while you wait for things to cool or freeze.  The only special piece of equipment I needed for this recipe was an ice cream maker.  Everytime the Hubs and I want to make ice cream at home we have to borrow my parents' 25 year old machine, purchase lots of ice and rock salt and babysit the machine outside for the 30+ minutes it takes to freeze the mixtures.  While it makes delicious ice cream it is inconvenient, loud and tough to clean.  This gelato recipe provided me with the perfect excuse to purchase my own quiet, easy to use and easy to clean Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker!  I see many more frozen treats on our future menus.

A quick run-down of Dorothy's procedure:
After broiling and peeling the peaches, chop them in to tiny pieces and let them hang out with some sugar for half an hour. 

When time's up add in some peach preserves, some milk, some cream and a pinch of salt (I forgot that part!) and bring the mixture to a boil. 

Strain it.  Dorothy put her mixture through a food mill, but I just ran mine through a fine mesh sieve.

Be patient, this process takes a little while!  Cool completely.  Overnight is best.  That gives the ice cream maker's bowl a chance to freeze completely, too. 

It made so much gelato mix that I had to freeze it in two batches, but then again, my ice cream maker is only 1 1/2 quarts.  It only took 20 minutes to freeze each batch in the machine and then I let it firm up a little more in my freezer before serving it. 

To say this gelato was delicious is a major understatement.  I'm already making plans to try the recipe again, but with other fruits.  One lady tried it with mulberries and said it was phenomenal. 

You have to check out Silvestro's site, and not just for this recipe, but for others too.  He seems like such a cool guy - cook, sommelier, teacher and photographer!  He also runs the Awaiting Table cooking school in Lecce, Italy... anyone up for a road airplane trip next summer?!?!

Eating my way through vacation ... Snacks & Shops

One of my favorite things to do while on vacation is to go to grocery stores.  Historical sites, grand works of art, picturesque landscapes - those are all fine and good, but I'll take a market over a masterpiece any day. 
(Don't tell the Hubs though, it's heresy to say things like that in our house)

I also love little snacks.  Traveling is hard work and I am in constant need of sustenance while exploring a new location. 

Here are a few of the snacks we consumed and little stores we checked out while in Italia and Espana. 

In Montecatini Terme we went out for a stroll around the town and stopped for a drink.  We had the usual -  gin and tonic for me and Campari with orange for the Hubs.  While the drinks were refreshing, my favorite part was the tray of bar snacks we received. 

(From left - homemade corn nuts, spicy mini rice cakes and some dried/baked bean.)

Of the three my favorite was the beans.  Partly because of the flavor, but partly because if you look at them closely they are really cute.  There is a thin piece of the 'skin' left on the middle of the bean, but the rest has been stripped away. 

You can never go wrong with gelato in Italy.  I think one of my favorite things visually about gelato is that it always appears as if it is on the verge of turning to liquid.
These are two of the students' cones - mint and lemon, respectively.  (I always order mine in a cup) .  It was hot this day in Cinque Terra and the girls were very kind to let me take a photo of their treats!

While walking around Firenze I happened upon this little bakery with the most fabulous window displays.  I wanted so badly to head inside and check out the rest of the goodies, but knew if I did I would be powerless to resist their sugary siren songs.  I had to settle for photos through the windows.

Before we boarded the ship that would take us across the Mediterranean from Livorno to Barcelona we were taken to the local supermarket, Supermercati PAM, to stock up on food for the journey.  We only had about 30 minutes, but I could have spent 3 hours.  Luckily, the Hubs and I are very practiced at grocery shopping in Italy and knew exactly what we needed/wanted, which freed me up to wander for a little while. 

Part of the meat counter -

And in addition to the meat counter there were stacks of pork everywhere.  This must be what heaven is going to be like... mealtime will be a buffet of lovely cured pork products.

And to carry our food purchases on to the ship I bought the most adorable reusable grocery bag.  How can a mozzarella ball dressed up like a little person not bring a smile to your face?!?!

Because of a series of unforeseen incidents, our arrival was delayed by about 5 hours, meaning we needed to eat one extra meal on the ship.  Here is the drink I chose to have with my dinner - wine in a juice box.  Not sure if it's sheer genius or the epitome of white trash...

Unfortunately, since it was Sunday when we were in Barcelona all of the food markets were closed.  Oh well, we still made time for snacks drinks while strolling Las Ramblas.  The joint was called Cerveceria Catalana and these really might have been the best Sangria we have ever had... or maybe I just thought they were really good because they were so cold. 

Eating my way through vacation ... Rome & Florence

We had a fabulous trip, but I am glad to be back home.  Keeping track of 14 teenagers is exhausting, even when they are all 'good kids'. 

Traveling with a large group and doing the 'tour' thing is much different than the way I have always traveled and took some getting used to.  On one hand it was nice to not be the one in charge of reservations and scheduling, but on the other hand it required me to give up control. 

And that is something I am NOT okay with. 

Especially if you're asking me to give up control over what I am going to eat. 

Because the meals had to accomodate large numbers of people, several of whom were very picky, our meals were pretty blah.  I don't want to sound ungrateful or snobby, please don't misunderstand me, I wouldn't trade this trip for the world.  I'm just used to eating cheap, local, non-processed food when I travel and for the most part that's not what we got. 

Thankfully there were a few bright spots sprinkled in those meals and for a couple of the lunches we were able to choose our own restaurants! 

Roma:

My basic pizza in Vatican City, complete with the requisite Peroni.

R's prosciutto covered pizza in Vatican City.  This pizza embodies everything that is good about salty foods.

Here is our favorite pizza counter in Roma.  It's located on the side of the Pantheon and is to die for.

And this is our favorite Italian birra to drink with their pizza. Yes, this is me being white trash and drinking it from a can.

Finally, and on a healthier note, we saw gorgeous, fruit-bearing olive trees everywhere. 

 
Firenze:
 
The Mercato Centrale (right next to the Medici Chapel) is the place to be at lunchtime.  Why?  Because that is where Nerbone is located.  It's a fast-paced lunch counter with some of the most delicious food.
 

Everything is good there, but I'm a sucker for their roast beef.  Specifically the roast beef sandwich. 
There are no words to describe the tender, flavorful meat and then those heavenly juices that soak in to the crispy bread, softening it just enough to make it edible.  I always enjoy mine with a small carafe of house red wine. 
 

To avoid going in to a food-coma after lunch, a leisurely stroll around the market is a must.  So many beautiful counters to check out and so many foods to sample. 

There are meat counters,

fresh produce stands,

dried fruit stands,

and when it's time to let that wine or beer out, there are restrooms too.  Available for a small fee, of course.

After a 460+ step climb to the top of Il Duomo (to burn off all of those lunch calories)

we were certainly ready for this decadent primi piatti - penne with cheese and peas.  This wasn't a white sauce, simply several delicious types of cheese and a dash of cream tossed with the pasta and peas.  Divine.

Oh, and remember all of those olives growing everywhere? 

This is how they end up - delicious, salty gems just begging to be consumed.

Little Purses of Love

I have been on a 'Sweets Streak' recently, baking lots of sugary, chocolately, sweet treats.  And while that is fun and friends have enjoyed receiving the goods, I am ready to move on.

Last night I climbed up on my counter to get to my recipe cabinet to retrieve the Food Section from October 14, 2009, so I could once again make these:

Japanese Pork and Shrimp Pot Stickers (or Gyoza)

I had made them last fall (still have the almost full bottle of sake in my fridge) and remember absolutely loving them.  I also remembered that they were a little labor intensive, so summer is the perfect time to make them again.  But don't let that scare you... it's just the wrapper folding that takes a little practice, every other part is ridiculously easy.

The recipe I followed was from Asian Dumplings by Andrea Nguyen and published in the Houston Chronicle on 10/14/2009.  (See link for full recipe)

The filling is incredibly easy to assemble and includes some Napa cabbage, garlic, ginger, scallions, ground pork, chopped shrimp... 

Along with a little sugar, some soy sauce, a healthy glug of sake and some good ol' S&P.

I used some already made Gyoza Wrappers.  I'm pretty adventurous, but doughs and I don't always get along and I did not want to stress about it.  Plus, theses commercial wrappers are pretty darn good, although only one of my local stores carries them.  (I stockpile them in my freezer)

Here is my setup, complete with a "how-to" cheat sheet.

About 1 tablespoon of the filling goes in the middle of each wrapper. 

After moistening the edge of the wrapper you do this pleating and pressing routine again and again and again until you you have this crescent-shaped little purse of flavor. 

And then repeat that process.

Again and again and again... until you have about 32 of these little guys.

Cooking them is super simple.  Arrange them (artfully) in your pan and cook in a mix of canola and sesame oil for about 2 minutes.

Add a little water, cover and cook another 8 minutes.  Uncover and then let them sizzle a few more minutes, until you get that lovely, flavorful brown (and slightly crunchy) bottom.

(They puff up a little bit when they steam, but they deflate as they cool)

They are fabulous when served with a simple dipping sauce made of soy sauce and seasoned rice vingar. 

Once you start eating these, you just can't stop.  They are completely worth every bit of work!

But if you don't have time for all of that fancy folding business (say, on a hectic weeknight), check out this idea for Gyoza Quesadillas.  Brilliant!

A Cheesey Post

I'm a cheese lover and rarely pass up the opportunity to add that dairy-based goodness to any meal.  However, I'm not a big fan of the processed stuff that is so rampant at local supermarkets. 

My favorite memories from trips (domestic and abroad) almost always involve food.  And not fancy-schmancy restaurant dishes, but food from street vendors or tiny markets.  I love hitting the local stores each morning and buying just enough bread, cheese and meat to make sandwiches for lunch that day.  And whatever the local cheese is, that's the one I'm buying.  I have had picnics in some of the most interesting and memorable places.

Fine dining on the steps of the Pantheon, drinking my favorite Italian birra

Last week while looking up information on homemade creme fraiche, I also came across several recipes for homemade ricotta.  They sounded simple, tasty and like something I just had to try myself. 

The recipe I chose was from a guest post by Dave Lebovitz on Simply Recipes.  It's very straightforward with only a few ingredients: 1/2 gallon of whole milk, 1 cup of yogurt, 1/2 cup of cream, 2 teaspoons of white vinegar and 1 teaspoon of salt.

After reading the comments about the recipe I decided to swap a 1/2 cup of my homemade creme fraiche for the cream. 

(I realize I neglected to mention this at the beginning of the post, but I'm sure by now everyone realizes that this was not going to be that Part-Skim Ricotta crap.  When given a choice, I almost always choose the full-fat dairy products.  They just taste so much better.  And when the flavor is better and the food is richer, you tend to eat less anyways.  It all balances out in the end.)

Back to the recipe...

Basically you dump everything in to a big pot and bring it to a boil for a minute or two, until the milk curdles.

 Then you pour the mixture into a cheesecloth-lined strainer and let it hang out over a large bowl for 15 or 20 minutes.  You can use it right away or store it in the fridge for up to 3 days.

The hardest part of this recipe was watching the milk curdle because normally that is what I try desperately to avoid.  It was strange and looked like lumpy ooze from another planet.  However, it smelled great!

I didn't even let it finish the full 15 minutes of draining before I snuck my first taste... I just couldn't resist.

WOW.  It was unbelievable.  So fresh and squeaky/chewy - you know, the way good ricotta cheese should be.  Reminded me a little bit of those yummy cheese curds.

Never again will I buy the stuff in the tubs at the big supermarkets.  It costs the same (or even less) to make it myself and there is absolutely no comparison when it comes to taste.

For dinner I ended up using the ricotta in a shrimp and pasta dish.  My mom The Easter Bunny brought me 4 packages of specialty pastas from Austin Gourmet Foods and I have been dying to try them out. 

I found a recipe to use as a starting point but ended up changing it around a little bit. 

I sauteed some garlic and crushed red pepper in a little butter, then stirred in 1/2 cup of milk and 3/4 cup of ricotta until it all combined.  I tossed in a little salt, some nutmeg and a couple of dashes of Texas Pete's Hot Sauce.  I wasn't totally pleased with the way things were headed, so I tossed in a 14 oz can of crushed tomatoes.  Good decision.  Next I stirred in 1/4 cup of cheese (I used a mix of gruyere and parmesan) then tossed in about a pound of raw, peeled shrimp and covered the skillet.

While the shrimp were cooking away I boiled the pasta... and dropped the almost full bottle of Texas Pete's.

12 oz on the floor looks like a lot more liquid than 12 oz in the bottle.

No, I'm not giving you the bird, I'm showing you my boo-boo.

Despite the huge mess, the cut finger and the fact that my kitchen smelled like a Wild Wings restaurant, we both thoroughly enjoyed the meal! 

(I realize it looks a little lumpy, but once it hits your mouth it completely melts.)

From start to finish the dish took less than 15 minutes to make.  Definitely a keeper.