La pizza rossa

Whe are cooking al red this week for a study in Scarlet.

Whit this weeks theme for the I Heart Cooking Clubs; A study in scarlet it didn't took me long to decide what i should make going trough my Apples for Jam cookbook i found this Pizza recipe. In the red section ofcourse. It's just a plane normal pizza but the taste was magnificent and in my mind i'm making all this variations on it already, with cheese ofcourse or maybe an all sweet one with apple or other fruits. This bready crust i think it goes with everything!

La pizza Rossa

Tessa Kiros(Apples for jam, page 53)

Cuts up in to 12- 15 pieces

Dough:
435ml (15¼ fl oz/1¾ cups) warm water
20g(¾ oz) fresch yeast, crumbled, or 10g(¼ oz) active dry yeast
1 teaspoon honey
1 tablespoon olive oil
600g (1lb 5oz/4¾ cups) all-purpose flour

Tomato topping:
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 large garlic clove, peeled and squashed a bit
800g(1Lb 12 oz) tinned diced tomatoes
3 basil leaves, torn

Put the water, yeast, honey, olive oil and 3 fistfuls of the flour in a bowl. Mix with electric beaters until smooth. Cover the bowl and leave for 20-30 minutes, until the mixture froths up and looks foamy on top. Mix in the reat of the flour and 1½ teaspoons of salt. The dough will be very soft and sticky(don't be tempted to ad more flour). Now using a dough hook, mix for about 4-5 minutes so everything is completly incorporated. If you don't have a dough hook just mix it with your hands, slapping it from one side of the bowl to the other as it will be too soft to knead. Cover the bowl with a couple of cloths and leave it in a warm and draughtfree place for about 1½ hours, or until the dough has puffed up well.

Very lightly oil a 28x38x4cm(11x15x1½inch) baking tray. Punch down the dough with one firm blow to the centre. Spread the dough gently into the tray, right out to the edges, working it with your palms to stretch it along the tray. If it won't stretch easily, leave it to relax for another 5 minutes and then gently stretch out the dough, starting from the centre and flicking your palms across it. Make sure the dough doesn't break anywhere and that it is more or less evenly spread. Put in a warm draught-free place. Arrange four glasses around the tray and drape a couple of tea towels or a towel over them like a tent to completly cover the tray(so that the dough doesn't stick to the cloth as it rises). Leave for 45 minutes or so, until the dough has puffed up.

For the tomato topping, heat the oil with the garlic in a saucepan and, when you begin to smell the garlic, add the tomatoes, basil and 1 teaspoon of salt. Cook for about 15 minutes over fairly strong heat, until the sauce loses its wateriness and starts to look thick and bubbly. If you like, you can whiz it a couple of times with a hand-held blender to make it a little smoother, but still keep some chunks.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to its hottest temperature.

Dimple the top of the dough here and there with your fingers, so that the tomato has some nests to settle into(take care not to deflate your dough, though). Scatter the tomato sauce over the top and gently spread it out with the back of the ladle. It may seem like a lot of sauce, but it keeps the pizza lovely and moist. Put the tray in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes(depending on the strenght of your oven) until the pizza is golden and a bit crusty here and there. Check that the bottom is crusty and crisp, too, and cook for longer if you need to. cut up into squares to serve. I think this is best warm but it can also be served at room temperature, or reheated.


Notes:
- I used only half of the ingredients and that was enough for one round pizza baking tray.
- Heated the oven to 270C(518F) and baked the pizza for the advised 20minutes and it came out right the way whe liked it.

Salsicce e fagioli (Sausages and beans)

This weeks theme is " bean there done that" at the I Heart Cooking Club. To get my bean on i made this rustic dish from Tessa Kiros's first book twelve. After eating it i understood why the tuscans love this dish so much. It's on my list of comfort foods now!

Tessa Kiros says, "Tuscans are well known for their love of beans, and this rustic recipe is one of their favorites".

Salsicce e fagioli



Tessa Kiros, Twelve(p.56)

Serves 6

500G(1 lb 2 oz) dried cannellini, soaked overnight in cold water
3 garlic cloves, peeled
2 sprigs of sage
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 large Italian pork sausages, about 100g(3½ oz) each
400G(14oz) tin peeled tomatoes, with their juice, chopped

Rinse the beans and put them into a large saucepan. Cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Skim the surface of the scum with a slotted spoon. Add 2 whole garlic cloves and one of the sage Sprigs. Cook for 1-1 1/2 hours or until the beans are tender. Season with salt and pepper in the last half hour of the cooking time.
In a separate large saucepan, heat the olive oil. Prick the sausages in couple of places with a fork and add them to the pan. Fry on a medium-high heat to brown on all sides. Add the remaining garlic clove and the sage, and as soon as it begins to sizzle ad the tomatoes. The sausages should provide enough Seasoning; if not add a little salt and pepper. Simmer for about 15 minutes or until the tomatoes have melted into a sauce.
Drain the cooked beans, reserving a little of the cooking liquid and add the beans to THE sausage pot. Check the seasoning and add salt and pepper, if necessery. Simmer for 10 minutes more, adding about 125-250 ml(1/2-1cup)of the reserved water to thin it out a little. Serve warm.

Notes: could not get any fresh sage at the moment so i used dried Sage.

Ricciarelli

It's that time of the month again "Potluck" at I Heart Cooking Clubs where whe feature the recipes of Tessa Kiros for six months. And in here book Twelve i found this recipe for Ricciarelli or Almond cakes. And since i had a big batch of almond flour in my pantry, waiting for me to make macarons for months. I used it for this almond cakes instead.
And i totally hadn't any regrets about that after tasting the almond cakes.

Tessa Kiros says, "These small, soft cakes are found in every shop is Siena along with the traditional panforte. They are baked on sheets or individual discs of rice paper, wich are trimmed around the cake when it is cooked and eaten with the small cake. If you do not have rice paper, line your baking tray with a piece of baking paper. When cooled, simply transfer from the baking paper to a tin".

Ricciarelli (Almond cakes)

Tessa Kiros, Twelve(page.365)
makes about 20 biscuits

300g (10 1/2oz) almond flour
280g (10 oz) caster sugar
150g (5 1/2oz) icing(confectioners) sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
grated zest of 1 orange
2 egg whites
1 sheet of rice paper(or about 20 small rounds) to line the baking tray

Line a flat baking tray with baking paper.
Mix the almond flour with the caster sugar, 100g(3 1/2 oz) of the icing sugar, the baking powder and the orange zest in a bowl.
Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks and combine with the almond mix, using a wooden spoon. Mash the mixture together to make a sticky, wet mass.
mouls oval shapes to 6cm(2 1/2in) long x 4cm(1 1/2in) wide x 2cm(3/4in) thick onto a spoon. Slide the ovals off the spoon carefully with you thumb, and reshape any identations. Put them onto the baking tray, allowing room for them to spread.
Sprinkle the tops with 25g(1 oz), or half of the remaining icing sugar. Leave the biscuits on the tray for 2-3 hours at room temperature to dry them a little before baking.
Preheat the oven to 140C (275F/Gas1). Bake for about 30 minutes or until they are lightly golden and a little firm on the outside. The inside will still be soft.Remove from the oven. Cool slightly before sprinkling with the remaining 25g(1 oz) of icing sugar. Cut the rice paper around the bottom of the cakes. They will keep for about a week stored in an airthight container.

notes: i didn't use the rice paper, because i could'nt find any. Baked them on baking paper.

Spaghettini al Pomodoro

I have been missing a couple of months fun over at I Heart Cooking Clubs.I haven't been able to join in over the last couple of months, but now i'm back. My book of Tessa Kiros (thats the chef whe will be featering the next 6 months) finally came last friday. It took 2 hole weeks to arrive, and yesterday i started immediatly. For this weeks theme "In my pasta bowl"

I made this simple but lovely pomodoro pasta bowl, deffinatly going to make that more often. Would you like to see the wath the others made this week, follow the link below. Or join in on the fun.

Tessa Kiros says,"A general standard for measuring a superb home cook is often their pasta al pomodoro".

Spaghettini al pomodoro (spaghettini with tomato sauce)


Tessa kiros , Twelve(p190)
serves 6

1/2 quantity, about 400ml(14fl oz) tomato sauce(recipe below)
500g (1lb 2oz) spaghettini
1 tablespoon butter
about 120g(1 1/4 cups) freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Make the tomato sauce.
Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Cook the spaghettini following the package instructions. If your tomato saucepan is not big enough, transfer the sauce to a bowl large enough to contain all the pasta, and keep it warm.Drain the pasta, reserving a little of the cooking water. Add the pasta and the butter to the sauce, and mix trough quikle, adding a few drops of the cooking water is necessary. Serve immediately with the pharmesan cheese.

Pomarola semplice (Simple tomato sauce)

Tessa Kiros, Twelve(p.382)
makes about 700ml(24fl oz)

3 garlic cloves, peeled and lightly crushed
6 tablespoons olive oil
1.2kg(2lb 10oz) of ripe fresh tomatoes,skinned and chopped or
900 g (2lb) tin of peeled tomatoes with juice, chopped
about 12 basil leaves, roughly torn

Put the garlic and olive oil into a saucepan on a medium heat.
When the garlic begins to sizzle, add the tomatoes. Season with about a teaspoon os salt and a little pepper. When the tomatoes begin to boil, lower the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, depending on how much water the tomatoes contain. Break up the tomatoes with a wooden spoon and cook until the tomatoes have melted into a thick, smooth sauce. Take care not to dry out the sauce. It should have a thick, soft consistency. If you prefer a completely smooth sauce, pass through a food mill or puree rougly in a blender. Add the basil towards the end of the cooking time.
If you will not be using the sauce immediately, store in a jar in the refrigerator. Cover the tomato sauce with a tin layer of olive oil. the sauce can also be frozen for future use.
If you are using tinned tomatoes, the cooking time will be slightly less. About 15 minutes from when the tomatoes begin to boil.


Notes: i only made half of the sauce recipe, because i didn't had any more tomatoes ad hand. But Tessa writes in her book that you can preserve this sauce very wel in glass jars for months.

Salt cod soup (Zuppa di baccala)

I'ts sunday again the last day of the week to admit our weekly cooked up dishes at I Heart Cooking Clubs. This weeks theme to cook one of Jamie Olivers recipes is Somethings Fishy! I had the feeling for some nice hot soup today so made his italian sald cod soup, it tasted good i thought but Mr.R(my boyfriend) didn't agree with me on that. He thinks it was to hot by the use of the red chili pepper, i loved it.


ingredients

• 310gsalt cod or 600g fresh cod, haddock or monkfish fillets
• 1 white onion, peeled
• 2 small carrots, peeled
• 2 sticks of celery, trimmed, pale green inner leaves reserved
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled
• a small bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley, stalks and leaves separated
• extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small dried red chilli, crumbled
2 x 400g tins of good-quality plum tomatoes
425ml light chicken stock, preferably organic
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
juice of 1 lemon



method

Did you know that cod used to be a very highly prized, valuable trading commodity? Wars and battles were won on salt cod because, of course, in the old days ships were sailing for weeks or months and the sailors would have a very unhealthy diet. Having salt cod on board as a source of protein kept them going, and it meant they could jump off the boat with enough energy for a bit of fighting when it was required! All kinds of cultures began to salt fish – I suppose Iberian and Nordic countries are particularly well known for still doing it today. And certainly the Italians are more than partial to their fair share of it. Hundreds of years ago the only way to get fish into the centre of Italy would have been to use preserved fish like salt cod. It might sound obvious, but this is why Tuscan cooking is predominantly meat- and bean-based. In the old days the only common fish recipes would have used either preserved or fresh lake fish.

Unless you live in a country where it’s prevalent, like Portugal or Spain, salt cod can only be bought in good delis. Try to hunt out the real baccalà, but if you can’t find any then simply buy some fresh fish which can be salted overnight. As salt cod is preserved using copious amounts of salt, avoid seasoning this soup at all or do it right at the very end.

If using fresh cod, haddock or monkfish, pack it in a few handfuls of sea salt overnight and rinse it before using. If using proper salt cod, soak the fillets in cold water for 24 hours, changing the water a few times during this period. This way, the fish will rehydrate and the saltiness will be removed before cooking. (If the fish is more than 2cm thick it might need up to 36 hours’ soaking.)

Chop the onion, carrots, celery, garlic and parsley stalks. Heat a splash of olive oil in a saucepan, and add the chopped vegetables, parsley stalks and dried chilli. Sweat very slowly with the lid ajar for 15 to 20 minutes until soft, but not brown. Add the tomatoes and simmer for 10 minutes, then add the stock and bring back to the boil.

Break up any larger pieces of tomato with a wooden spoon and drop the salt cod fillets into the hot soup. Simmer gently for 15 minutes, just until the fish has poached and flakes apart when prodded with a fork. Pick out any bits of skin. Gently fold the flakes of fish through the soup, taste and season with pepper, salt (if needed) and a little lemon juice. Chop the parsley and celery leaves and scatter over the soup. Drizzle with plenty of extra virgin olive oil.



• from Jamie's Italy

also admitting this to:

Meatballs and pasta

Mad about herbs is this weeks theme at I Heart Cooking Club to cook with one of Jamie Olivers recipes. I decided to make spagetti with meatballs, and it was rockin'. The flavours of the herbs where great together. Feel free to join in!


ingredients
serves 4-6

• 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary
• 12 Jacob’s cream crackers
• 2 heaped teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 500g good-quality minced beef, pork, or a mixture of the two
• 1 heaped tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 large egg, preferably free-range or organic
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• olive oil
• a bunch of fresh basil
• 1 medium onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• ½ a fresh or dried red chilli
• 2 x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 400g dried spaghetti or penne
• Parmesan cheese, for grating


method

Meatballs are fantastic! They’re perfect like this, with a one-minute homemade tomato sauce and spaghetti, but you could also try polenta or simple chunks of fresh crust bread. I like to make meatballs with a mixture of beef and pork, as I think it gives a really wonderful flavour and texture.

To make your meatballs
• Pick the rosemary leaves off the woody stalks and finely chop them
• Wrap the crackers in a tea towel and smash up until fine, breaking up any big bits with your hands
• Add to a mixing bowl with the mustard, minced meat, chopped rosemary and oregano
• Crack in the egg and add a good pinch of salt and pepper
• With clean hands scrunch and mix up well
• Divide into 4 large balls
• With wet hands, divide each ball into 6 and roll into little meatballs – you should end up with 24
• Drizzle them with olive oil and jiggle them about so they all get coated
• Put them on a plate, cover and place in the fridge until needed

To cook your pasta, meatballs and sauce
• Pick the basil leaves, keeping any smaller ones to one side for later
• Peel and finely chop the onion and the garlic
• Finely slice the chilli
• Put a large pan of salted water on to boil
• Next, heat a large frying pan on a medium heat and add 2 lugs of olive oil
• Add your onion to the frying pan and stir for around 7 minutes or until softened and lightly golden
• Then add your garlic and chilli, and as soon as they start to get some colour add the large basil leaves
• Add the tomatoes and the balsamic vinegar
• Bring to the boil and season to taste
• Meanwhile, heat another large frying pan and add a lug of olive oil and your meatballs
• Stir them around and cook for 8–10 minutes until golden (check they’re cooked by opening one up – there should be no sign of pink)
• Add the meatballs to the sauce and simmer until the pasta is ready, then remove from the heat
• Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook according to the packet instructions

To serve your meatballs
• Saving some of the cooking water, drain the pasta in a colander
• Return the pasta to the pan
• Spoon half the tomato sauce into the pasta, adding a little splash of your reserved water to loosen
• Serve on a large platter, or in separate bowls, with the rest of the sauce and meatballs on top
• Sprinkle over the small basil leaves and some grated Parmesan




notes:
- didn't had any jacob cream crackers so i used bread crumbs instead
- for the minced meat used half beef half pork like Jamie suggested.
The meatballs where absolutly delicious, this recipe was a real winner and whe don't fancy red sauce on our pasta but after this we do.
From Jamie's ministry of food.

also posted this to:

Tagliatelle with asparagus, crispy pancetta and parmesan

This weeks theme at i heart cooking clubs is mum's the word! My mom really love's Asparagus, so made this delicious pasta especially for her and a little bit for me;)

ingredients

• 1 bunch asparagus
• 12 thin slices pancetta, the best quality you can afford, sliced into small strips
• 500g fresh egg tagliatelle
• 100g Parmesan, grated
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• extra virgin olive oil

method

A great dish packed with earthy flavours that the whole family will love – and it's quick and easy, too!

Snap the woody bottoms off the asparagus stalks and throw them away.

Cut off the top 4cm of each stalk, put to one side and finely chop the remaining stalks. Heat a wide frying pan and gently fry the chopped asparagus stalks in a little olive oil with the pancetta. When the asparagus softens slightly turn the heat off and mash them roughly with the back of a fork.

Cook the tagliatelle in plenty of boiling salted water, according to pack instructions. Add the asparagus tips for the last 2 minutes of cooking time.

Drain the pasta, reserving a cup of the cooking water, and toss with the mashed asparagus and pancetta.

Stir in most of the Parmesan cheese and season with salt and pepper. If needed loosen the pasta with a little of the cooking water. Serve with the last of the Parmesan sprinkled on top.

Tip: Cooking your asparagus with the pasta is a clever way to save on time and washing up.

Arrivederci Giada dinner for IHCC!

Well it's time again, to say goodbye to another chef at I Heart Cooking Clubs. The past six months we have been cooking with Giada De Laurentiis!Very well known all over the world, but i didn't know her!(six months ago).
To get to know her i started with a little research on the internet about her. Reading true her own website GiadaDeLaurentiis.com and ofcourse Wikipedia(what would we do without)and the foodnetworksite, i really found out a lot about her.
One of the most important things i found out, is that she is an Italian and that she cooks Italian. So i was eager to start cooking(because i like italian).
Halfway true the six months i lost this sence of cooking Giada's recipes, Stil don't know why exactly. One of the things i do love Giada about is all her great Mascarpone recipes like this one. This is my favorite recipe an i will be making this again.

But for this week i have prepared a little dinner to say Arrivederci!

Sweat pea CrostiniWith
Apple and Thyme Martini


Crunchy parmesan chicken tenders
served with
Penne with sun-dried tomato pesto

Panna Cotta with fresh berries



Posting this to:
- I Heart Cooking Clubs( Arrivederci Giada! last week of cooking with Giada, next week we will start cooking with Jamie Oliver for the next six months)

Panna Cotta with fresh berries

Recipe can be found here
Courtesy of Giada de Laurentiis

Cook time: 7 minutes(waiting 6 hours)
Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients
1 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon unflavored powdered gelatin
3 cups whipping cream
1/3 cup honey
1 tablespoon sugar
Pinch salt
2 cups assorted fresh berries

Directions
Place the milk in a small bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin over. Let stand for 3 to 5 minutes to soften the gelatin. Pour milk mixture into a heavy saucepan and stir over medium heat just until the gelatin dissolves but the milk does not boil, about 5 minutes. Add the cream, honey, sugar, and salt. Stir until the sugar dissolves, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the heat. Pour into 6 wine glasses so that they are 1/2 full. Cool slightly. Refrigerate until set, at least 6 hours.

Spoon the berries atop the panna cotta and serve

Notes:
My first attempt ever at making Panna cotta. Ofcourse there had te be a first time for failure also, since i started this cooking blog. Everything has been going well untill now.

You can see the two different layers in the glass, so i wanted to find out why it happend. After reading some more panna cotta recipes, i thought it was because of the cooling down. In giada's recipe the cooling is after youve poured it into the wine glasses, but in all the other recipes this happens before. So i put the saucepan in my sink(with a bottom of cold water), kept stirring and after that poured it into the glasses. It worked! the panna cotta came out fine after that and tasted creamy delicious. No fresh berries in season now so used frozen.

Posting this to:
- I Heart Cooking Clubs( Arrivederci Giada! last week of cooking with Giada, next week we will start cooking with Jamie Oliver for the next six months)

The link to my Arrivederci dinner is here!

Crunchy Parmesan Chicken Tenders

Recipe can be found here
courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis

cooking time: 12 minutes
yields: 6 servings

Ingredients
4 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 pounds chicken tenders (about 18)
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper
1 1/4 cups freshly grated Parmesan
3/4 cup Italian-style seasoned bread crumbs

Directions
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.(260 degrees C.)

Brush 1 tablespoon of oil over each of 2 heavy large lined baking sheets. Place the buttermilk in a large bowl. Add the chicken tenders and stir to coat. Let stand at least 15 minutes and up to 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, mash the garlic with the salt in a medium bowl. Whisk in the vinegar and then the remaining 1/2 cup of oil. Season the vinaigrette, to taste, with pepper. Transfer the vinaigrette to a small serving bowl.

Stir the Parmesan and bread crumbs in a pie dish. Remove the chicken tenders from the buttermilk and dredge them in the bread crumb mixture to coat completely, pressing to adhere. Arrange the coated chicken tenders on the prepared baking sheets, spacing evenly. Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil over the chicken tenders and bake until they are cooked through and golden brown, about 12 minutes.

Transfer the chicken tenders to a platter and serve the vinaigrette alongside for dipping.

Posting this to:
- I Heart Cooking Clubs( Arrivederci Giada! last week of cooking with Giada, next week we will start cooking with Jamie Oliver for the next six months)

The link to my Arrivederci dinner is here!

Penne with Sun-dried Tomato Pesto

Recipe can be found here
Courtesy of Giada de Laurentiis

cooking time: 15 minutes
yields: 4 servings


Ingredients:
12 ounces penne pasta
1 (8.5-ounce) jar sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil
2 garlic cloves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup (packed) fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
Directions
Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.

Meanwhile, blend the sun-dried tomatoes and their oil, garlic, salt and pepper, to taste, and basil in a food processor and blend until the tomatoes are finely chopped. Transfer the tomato mixture to a large bowl. Stir in the Parmesan.

Add the pasta to the pesto and toss to coat, adding enough reserved cooking liquid to moisten. Season the pasta, to taste, with salt and pepper and serve.

Posting this to:
- I Heart Cooking Clubs( Arrivederci Giada! last week of cooking with Giada, next week we will start cooking with Jamie Oliver for the next six months)

The link to my Arrivederci dinner is here!

Sweet Pea Crostini

Recipe can be found here
Courtesy of Giada de Laurentiis
Cook time: 20 minutes
Yields: 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients
Sweet Peas:
2 cups chicken broth or water
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 (16-ounce) bag frozen peas
1/4 cup fresh chopped mint
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup whipping cream
3 ounces finely diced prosciutto

Crostini:
1 baguette, sliced into 1/2-inch thick slices
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
3 to 4 cloves garlic

Directions
For the Sweet Peas: Warm the chicken broth and red pepper flakes in a medium
saucepan over medium-high heat until the broth boils. Add the frozen peas and cook until the peas are tender, about 5 minutes. Drain the peas in a mesh sieve.

Place the peas in a food processor with the mint, salt, and pepper. Puree the pea mixture. Place the pea puree in a medium bowl and refrigerate until cool, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, for the crostini: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place the baguette slices on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet in a single layer. Bake in the oven until toasted and golden around the edges, about 10 minutes. While the crostini are still warm, drizzle the tops with extra-virgin olive oil. Using a whole clove of garlic in your fingertips, rub the top of the crostini a few times to give a hint of garlic.

To finish, whip the cream until stiff peaks form. Fold the whipped cream into the pea puree. Top each of the crostini with about 1 tablespoon of pea puree. Sprinkle with a bit of the diced prosciutto. Serve immediately.

Posting this to:
- I Heart Cooking Clubs( Arrivederci Giada! last week of cooking with Giada, next week we will start cooking with Jamie Oliver for the next six months)

The link to my Arrivederci dinner is here!

Roasted baby potatoes with herbs for Spud week! at IHCC

After this week we only have left one more week of cooking with Giada. Also after two weeks of Voting our Next chef is finally announced. We could vote for Rick Bayless, Bobbie Flay or Jamie Oliver. Mr. Flay was the least favorit, and it became clear very soon that Jamie or Rick
Would become our chef for the upcoming six months.
Mr. Oliver did it he won the vote with more then half of the votes.

Recipe can be found here
Courtesy of Giada de Laurentiis

Cooking time: 1 hour
Yields: 6 servings

Ingredients
1/2 pound small red-skinned potatoes (about 1 3/4-inch diameter), scrubbed
1/2 pound small white-skinned potatoes (about 1 3/4-inch diameter), scrubbed
1 tablespoon herbes de Provence, plus extra for garnish
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Put the potatoes into a large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk the herbs, garlic, and oil together until blended, and then pour over the potatoes. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Transfer the potatoes to a heavy large baking dish, spacing them evenly apart.

Roast the potatoes until they are tender and golden, turning them occasionally with tongs, about 1 hour. Transfer the roasted potatoes to a decorative platter and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and herbes de Provence, if desired. Serve hot or warm.



Admitting this to:

Apple and Thyme Martini

The exact origin of the Martini is unclear however the most likely explanation is that it was simply a shortening of the main ingredient, Martini branded vermouth. One popular alternative suggests it evolved from a cocktail called the Martinez served at the Occidental Hotel in San Francisco in 1862, which people frequented before taking an evening ferry to the nearby town of Martinez. Another theory links the origin of the Martini to the name of a bartender who concocted the drink at the Knickerbocker Hotel in New York City in 1911.

The original Martinez cocktail consisted of two ounces of Italian Martini & Rossi sweet vermouth, one ounce Old Tom sweet gin, two dashes maraschino liquor, one dash bitters, shaken, and served with a twist of lemon.By the end of the 19th century, the martini had morphed into a simpler form: two dashes of Orange bitters, mixed with half a jigger of dry French vermouth and half a jigger of dry English gin, stirred and served with an olive.

But it was Prohibition and the relative ease of illegal gin manufacture that led to the martini's rise as the predominant cocktail of the mid 20th century. With the repeal of Prohibition, and the ready availability of quality gin, the drink became progressively dryer. In the 1970s and 80s, the martini came to be seen as old-fashioned and was replaced by more intricate cocktails and wine spritzers, but the mid-1990s saw a resurgence in the drink and an explosion of new versions.

Some of the newer versions (e.g., appletini, peach martini, chocolate martini), take their name not from the ingredients, but from the cocktail glass they share with the martini.

If you have read al that information you will see in giada's recipe there is only vodka. So it's a very modern take on Martini with even a pinch of thyme, this is where the homemade thyme syrup that i posted earlier this week comes in.
After taking my first sip of it , i almost spit it out because the vodka was to strong for me. I had to ad some more apple juice to make it drinkable. Then the taste was fine i liked the Thyme in it but my boyfriend(from now i will reference to him with Mr. R)totaly didn't. I would chance the amount of vodka and applejuice to use in this recipe with each other the next time.

Recipe can be found here
Courtesy of Giada de Laurentiis


serves: 4
Ingredients
Ice
10 ounces vodka
6 ounces apple juice
1/4 cup thyme syrup, recipe posted earlier on my site
1 large apple, peeled
4 fresh thyme sprigs

Directions
Special equipment: melon baller

Chill the martini glasses.

Fill the shaker with ice. Combine the vodka, apple juice, and thyme syrup in a martini shaker. Shake for about 10 seconds. Divide between the 4 chilled martini glasses.

Use the melon baller to scoop out small balls of apple. Place 3 balls of apple and 1 sprig of thyme in each glass for garnish. Serve immediately.




Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martini_(cocktail)

Spaghetti with Arugula Pesto and Seared Jumbo Shrimp for IHCC

I've been missing out of last weeks fall theme, but back here with this weeks potluck at IHCC.

My boyfriend has been asking about shrimps so when i came across this recipe, i thougt this would be a delicious simple weeknight meal.
He really loved my choice because he saw no veggies(he isn't a big fan of them), but ofcourse there is already a lot of arugula in the sauce/ pesto. Seems like a great choice to me to! No complaining about the veggies he didn't like because he didn't regonized them.

recipe from foodnetwork.com
Cook time: 15 minutes
yields: 6 servings

Ingredients
2 cups fresh arugula
1 garlic clove
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound jumbo shrimp
1 pound spaghetti
Lemon zest, for garnish
10 parsley leaves, chopped, for garnish

Directions
Blend the arugula and garlic in a food processor until finely chopped. With the machine running, gradually add 1/2 cup of oil, processing until well blended. Transfer the pesto to a large bowl. Stir in the Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Prepare the grill (high heat). Using a knife, cut the back of the shrimp. Brush the shrimp with oil. Sprinkle with salt. Grill the shrimp until just cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer the shrimp to a plate.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid.

Toss the pasta with the pesto in the large bowl to coat, adding the reserved cooking liquid 1 tablespoon at a time to moisten. Top with the grilled shrimp. Garnish with the lemon zest and parsley.

Rice Pudding with Vanilla Bean, Orange and Rum for IHCC

This weeks theme at IHCC is kid at heart.

As a kid i was fond of rice pudding, so made this delicious recipe.

i left out the rum, cause i don't like that.

Recipe from foodnetwork.com
Cook time: 35 minutes
Yields: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients
5 cups whole milk
2/3 cup Arborio rice or other short-grain white rice
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons dark rum
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
Orange segments

Directions
Combine the milk and rice in a heavy medium saucepan. Scrape in the seeds from the vanilla bean; add the bean. Bring the milk to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the rice is tender, stirring frequently, about 25 minutes. Mix in the sugar, rum, and orange peel. Discard the vanilla bean. Cook until the mixture thickens, 5 to10 minutes longer.

Spoon the rice pudding into bowls. Cover and refrigerate until cold, about 5 hours. Serve with orange segments.

Rigatoni Penne with Creamy Mushroom Sauce

Served family style is this weeks theme at IHCC. We can make any dish that our familys would love.
So i made this lovely pasta with Mushrooms.

Adapted from the foodnetwork.com
Yield: 4 to 6 servings

1 pound rigatoni pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 shallots, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound assorted mushrooms, (such as cremini, shiitake and button), cleaned and sliced
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup vegetable stock
1 cup (8 ounces) mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

i'didnt had rigatoni so i used Penne.
Giada seemes to love rigatone...

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes.

While the pasta is cooking:

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and garlic to the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until soft, about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms to the pan and season with salt and pepper. Cook until mushrooms are tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 to 7 minutes. Turn the heat to high. Add the wine and cook for 3 minutes until all the liquid evaporates. Add the stock and simmer until liquid is slightly reduced. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the mascarpone cheese. Stir until creamy. Drain the pasta, reserving about 1 cup of the pasta water, and transfer to a serving bowl. Add the mushroom mixture and the Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Toss well to coat pasta, adding the reserved pasta water, if needed, to loosen the pasta. Garnish with the chopped chives. Serve immediately.

Daring Cooks march 2010: Risotto

The 2010 March Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Eleanor of MelbournefoodGeek and Jess of Jessthebaker. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make risotto. The various components of their challenge recipe are based on input from the Australian Masterchef cookbook and the cookbook Moorish by Greg Malouf.

This was my first challenge to participate in, and i liked it. I loved it to see everyones creative risotto's posted in the forum. And some are so fast with that..
I made Risotto alla Milanese(Saffron risotto). But it was the first time that i had to make my own stock, and it didn't turned out quite as well as i had hoped.
Here ar the recipes whe used.


Chicken Stock

Ingredients:
1 large chicken 2-3 pounds about 1 kg
chicken bones 2-3 pounds 1 kg
2 onions, roughly diced
1 medium leek - white part only, roughly diced
2 sticks celery, roughly diced
2 cloves garlic, halved
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp. white peppercorns ( Any type of whole peppercorn will do)
2 bay leaves (fresh or dried, it doesn't matter.)
peel of 1/2 lemon
1/4 tsp. allspice

Directions:

Wash the chicken and bones and places in a 5 Litre pot, cover completely with water and bring to a boil
Skim away any scum as it comes to the surface
Add the vegetables and bring back to a boil
Add the rest remaining ingredients and simmer very gently, uncovered for 1.5 hours
Carefully lift out the chicken, set aside. The chicken meat can be removed from the chicken, shredded off and used for other things like soup!
Simmer the stock gently for another hour. At , at the end you should have around 2 Liters
Carefully ladle the liquid into a fine sieve, the less the bones and vegetables are disturbed in this process the clearer the stock will be. 
The stock is now ready for use. Freeze what you don't need for later use.
Risotto Base

Ingredients:
olive oil 2 fluid oz 60 ml
1 small onion, quatered
rice 14 oz 400g
Any type of risotto rice will do. I use Arborio but the recipe itself says Vialone Nano. Another to look for is Carnaroli.
white wine 2 fl oz 60 ml
chicken or vegetable stock , simmering 2 pints 1 L


Directions:

Heat oil in a pan and add onion. Fry for a few minutes to flavour the oil then discard. (We diced ours and left it in as we like onion).
Add the rice and stir for a few minutes to coat each grain of rice with oil and toast slightly.
Add the wine and let it bubble away until evaporated.
Add enough stock to cover the rice by a finger’s width (about an inch or two). Don't actually stick your finger in, it will be hot. Just eye it off.
Cook on medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon from time to time, until most of the stock has been absorbed.
Repeat Step 5 making sure to leave aside approximately 100 ml. of stock for the final step. .
Repeat, save 100ml for the final stage.
Once you are at this point, the base is made. You now get to add your own variation.

Saffron Risotto
30ml olive oil
1 onion
200 grams Arborio rice
100ml white whine
1l chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon Saffron
50g parmesan cheese

Take 100ml warm stock and ad the saffron.
Heat oil in a pan and add onion. Fry for a few minutes. Add the rice and stir for a few minutes to coat each grain of rice with oil and toast slightly.
Add the wine and let it bubble away until evaporated.
Add enough stock(the stock with saffron first) to cover the rice by a finger’s width (about an inch or two).
Cook on medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon from time to time, until most of the stock has been absorbed.
Repeat Step 5 making sure to leave aside approximately 100 ml. of stock for the final step. .
Repeat, save 100ml for the final stage.
Stir the parmesan cheese true the finised risotto