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Post by kit on Jul 17, 2012 8:59:16 GMT -5
VG... I know what you mean about cooking meats, whether it's beef, chicken, fish or otherwise. Different cooking products produce different results and the best way to zero-in on the proper method for that product is just simple practice. You apparently have a handle on what works the best for you.
Clipper... several years ago my lady friend at the time gave me a cookbook by the comedian Dom DeLuis called "Eat this... it's Good For You." Some of the recipes are from his TV and movie star friends, but most of them are from his mother Vincenca. I looked at her recipe for Pasta Fagioli and for a long time thought it was much too simple to be any good... that is until I tried making it just like the recipe said. It was great and very authentic and I've been making it that way ever since. In fact, I think I'll make some for tonight's supper. As with many mayonnaise-faces like myself, I sometimes add other ingredients or overspice and the results are disappointing. But one thing Dom says is that it doesn't matter which type of beans you use in the recipe. Different beans may give you a slightly different flavor, but they all work well, including garbanzos (in which case it's called 'Pasta Cece'). So don't worry about the authenticity of your Pasta Fagioli. I'm sure it's great no matter which beans you use.
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Post by Clipper on Jul 17, 2012 11:04:18 GMT -5
You are correct about that Kit. We used to have Pasta Fagioli at the firehouse back in the 70's. The guy that cooked it was Italian and was a great cook. He made it with simple canned pork and beans, onions, lots of garlic and jarred sauce, but by the time he seasoned it up and cooked the sauce down it was delicious. Of course it was probably dangerous to light a match in the bunkroom of the crash house those nights. VG, we had those Swai filets yesterday. Even though I had not cooked them as soon as we got them, they were fresh smelling (didn't smell like fish) and were as sweet, firm, and flaky as any haddock I have eaten. I am ecstatic to be able to find a fish that is comparable in flavor. We have missed our haddock fish fries for the 10 yrs that we have lived down here. Swai truly is almost as tasty as haddock.Woohoo! Kathy dredged it in flour, dragged it through an egg wash, another trip through the seasoned flour, this time mixed with a few crushed potato chip crumbs, and into oil, heated to 375 degrees. It came out golden, crispy on the outside, and sweet and juicy on the inside. Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm. She put that along side home made coleslaw and oven baked sweet potato fries. She makes a dip for the fries out of apple butter and a little honey heated in the microwave. She got the idea from fries we had a Perkin's Restaurant recently. They are delicious. I buy fresh yams, peel them and slice them into fairly large wedges, much like steak fries. She puts them on a sheet pan, drizzles them lightly with oil, sprinkles them lightly with sea salt, and bakes them at 400 degrees until they are tender and crisp on the outside.
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Post by Clipper on Jul 17, 2012 15:05:08 GMT -5
No new recipes for today, but we ARE eating spaghetti with Chanatry's hot sausage and a few meatballs. Still living large on the wonderful goodies that we brought home from Utica. ;D ;D
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Post by virgilgal on Jul 18, 2012 7:05:05 GMT -5
There is a wonderful Italian restaurant in Cortland called Fabio's. He uses a lot of his grandmother's recipes from some small little town in Italy. He makes homemade gnocchi that is incredible; like eating clouds! I have been searching for a recipe for this that works; any gnocchi makers here? Please share!
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Post by chris on Jul 18, 2012 16:55:03 GMT -5
VG...a friend of mine gave me a recipe for them and told me they were light also. I have never eaten them because they always looked to heavy and I like to eat light stuff. I will see if I can find it or if not ask for another copy.
I have had hats that I use to buy on Bleecker way back when at Napoli's. They were to die for and one of my ex relatives (Antonia) use to make them too and they were excellent. Unfortunately the recipe went with her.
Found it faster than I expected to ...must be getting better with my filing....LOL
Post to follow.
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Post by chris on Jul 18, 2012 17:06:20 GMT -5
Here is the recipe:
GNOCCHI
2-3 cups of flour 2 whole eggs 16 oz. ricotta cheese pinch of salt Mix all ingredients, shape into a rope and cut into small pieces. Drop into boiling water, when the gnocchi float to top they should be done, serve with sauce and lots of parmesan cheese. Enjoy!!!
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Post by chris on Jul 18, 2012 17:31:18 GMT -5
This one is my ultimate die and go to heaven dessert.....Tiramasu When I first found this recipe there was no mascarpone to be found anywhere at the time ...not even Wegman's. No longer the case. So I used cream cheese as a substitute and it was just as delicious. Don't know if I mentioned it here at one pont on the forum but the story behind this a bit spooky (same as everything else that happens to me). A dear friend of mine (Italian of course) just came back from Italy and was telling me how he was invited to this gentleman's home for dinner and was telling me of this fabulous dessert. He had never had it before and I had never heard of it before. Two days later I was skimmming through a magazine and there was the recipe. Of course I had to try it. So here it is:
TIRAMISU
This Italian dessert, a must on the most fashionable restaurant menus, is made with layers of ladyjingers soaked in espresso and coffee liqueur, mascarpone cheese, and topped with chocolate shavings. 1 16-ounce container mascarpone cheese* confectioners’ sugar coffee-flavor liqueur vanilla extract 3 squares semisweet chocolate, coarsely grated 1½ cups heavy or whipping 2 teaspoons instant espresso- coffee powder 2 3- to 4 1/2-ounce packages ladyfingers
ABOUT 3 HOURS BEFORE SERVING OR EARLY IN DAY:
1. In large bowl, with wire whisk or fork, beat mascarpone, ½ cup con fectioners’ sugar, 3 tablespoons coffee-flavor liqueur, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, two-thirds of grated chocolate, and ½ teaspoon sail. (Set aside remaining chocolate for top of dessert.) 2. In small bowl, with mixer at medium speed, beat 1 cup heavy or whipping cream until soft peaks form. With rubber spatula or wire whisk, fold whipped cream into cheese mixture. 3. In small bowl, stir instant espresso powder, /3 cup coffee- flavor liqueur, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, and 2 tablespoons water. 4. Separate ladyfingers into halves. Line 10-cup glass or crystal bowl with one-fourth of ladyfingers; brush with 2 tablespoons of espres so mixture. Spoon one-third of cheese mixture over ladyfingers. Repeat with ladyfingers, espresso mixture, and cheese mixture to make 2 more layers. Top with re maining ladyfingers, gently press ing ladyfingers into cheese mixture. Brush ladyfingers with remaining espresso mixture. Sprinkle remain ing grated chocolate over top of dessert, reserving 1 tablespoon for garnish. 5. In small bowl, with mixer at medium speed, beat remaining ½ cup heavy or whipping cream and 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar until soft peaks form. Spoon whipped-cream mixture into deco rating bag with large star tube. Pipe large rosettes on top of dessert. Sprinkle reserved grated chocolate on rosettes. Cover dessert and refrigerate at least 2 hours to chill and blend flavors Maeks 16 servings. About 380 claories per serving.
lf mascarpone cheese is not available, substitute two 8 ounce package’s cream cheese, softened, and in step I in large bowl, with mixer at medium speed, beat cream cheese and 3 tablespoons milk until smooth and fluffy. Increase confectioners’ sugar to ¼ cup and beat in with coffee-flavor liqueur and vanilla extract. Stir in grated chocolate; delete salt.
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Post by virgilgal on Jul 19, 2012 7:27:39 GMT -5
Thank you Chris! I may give the Gnocchi's a try this weekend when a friend is here. I am thinking of serving them with pesto as I have tons of fresh garlic and basil. The Tiramisu looks like a "to die for" recipe!
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Post by Clipper on Jul 19, 2012 8:12:17 GMT -5
That Gnocchi recipe is interesting Chris. I have had gnocchi made with riced or mashed potatoes included in the recipe. I was not crazy about them, but your recipe without the potatoes sounds much more pasta like and good to me.
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Post by chris on Jul 19, 2012 8:28:09 GMT -5
your right Clipper they usually did have pototoe which is probably why I always avoided them. Those are the sinkers not floaters.
The recipe doesn't state it but I believe the gnocchi are rolled on a fork to form a curl. Might take some practice.
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Post by Clipper on Jul 19, 2012 10:35:43 GMT -5
I have watched the Food Network chefs roll the gnocchi with a fork. Mario Batali is a master. He made it look easy and was very fast. Can you imagine hand rolling enough of them for a dinner hour at a busy Italian restaurant, or to feed a banquet group?
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Post by kit on Jul 19, 2012 10:56:28 GMT -5
I made gnocchi just once, and they were too 'heavy' for me as well... but they were made with potatoes. I'll have to try again using flour. I, too, use a fork to flatten and curl the pieces before cooking. I have a Simac Pastamatic 1000 with a gnocchi die that extrudes those puppies 8 at a time as fast as you can cut them... but somehow it's just not the same as making them by hand. They taste better handmade because there's love in them.
Clipper... I brought my cast iron skillet over from the old house yesterday and it really needed cleaning after the flood. It's a very old (my grandmother's vintage) #5 skillet made by Favorite Piqua Ware and fries eggs to perfection. So I cleaned it and am seasoning it right now. I use a different method than you do. I coat the inside and out with oil then put it on top of the stove (electric) cover it with a Corelle plate and turn the heat to Medium. After cooking it for 15 minutes I turn the heat off and let it cool naturally before removing the plate (because it's HOT you know). That's all there is to it. In my opinion, cast iron is just as good as some of the non-stick coated cookware... certainly better than the thin gauge stuff that you get cheap.
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Post by kit on Jul 19, 2012 11:00:02 GMT -5
I made gnocchi just once, and they were too 'heavy' for me as well... but they were made with potatoes. I'll have to try again using flour. I, too, use a fork to flatten and curl the pieces before cooking. I have a Simac Pastamatic 1000 with a gnocchi die that extrudes those puppies 8 at a time as fast as you can cut them... but somehow it's just not the same as making them by hand. They taste better handmade because there's love in them.
Clipper... I brought my cast iron skillet over from the old house yesterday and it really needed cleaning after the flood. It's a very old (my grandmother's vintage) #5 skillet made by Favorite Piqua Ware and fries eggs to perfection. So I cleaned it and am seasoning it right now. I use a different method than you do. I coat the inside and out with oil then put it on top of the stove (electric) cover it with a Corelle plate and turn the heat to Medium. After cooking it for 15 minutes I turn the heat off and let it cool naturally before removing the plate (because it's HOT you know). That's all there is to it. In my opinion, cast iron is just as good as some of the non-stick coated cookware... certainly better than the thin gauge stuff that you can buy cheap.
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Post by Clipper on Jul 19, 2012 11:15:58 GMT -5
We have an assortment of cookware and I agree with you Kit. I like the cast iron for many applications because it heats evenly, holds the heat, and is able to be taken from stove top to the oven.
Another "oldie but goodie" is our cast aluminum griddle. It is great for pancakes. It came with a GE electric stove that Kathy and her first husband had back in the 60's. It's about 10 inches square and just the right size for 4 four inch pancakes at a time, or 4 slices of french toast.
I think that your seasoning method is just as effective as the one that I posted from Lodge Ironworks. The principle seems to be to heat the piece to a high temperature to allow the oil to penetrate and then to let it cool slowly to retain that oil in the pores of the casting. We have several non-stick saute pans and non stick skillets but I am not crazy about them because they don't hold heat or heat evenly. We recently bought one of the newest thing being pushed. It is one of those green coated fry pans. It is okay, and has a heavy bottom to evenly distribute the heat, but it is not that much different than the average non-stick and I paid $25 for a 10 inch pan. I have seen cheaper ones advertised on TV and the "Made for TV" store here has them, but they are thinner bottomed and cheesey. I bought ours at Target.
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Post by kit on Jul 19, 2012 13:11:46 GMT -5
Clipper... I have an old cast aluminum griddle (with a Bakelite handle) that dates back to before I can remember. It's called the "Happy Day Griddle-Grill" made by "The Wm. B. Watkins Co. Evanston, Ill" and bears Patent #D-154967. I've only seen one other like it. Is anyone familiar with this? On the griddle side, it has a flat cooking area of 9-1/4"x10" which would be for pancakes, etc. But flip it over and it becomes a grill with raised bars to put the stripes on hamburgs or steaks and it is recessed around the perimeter to cook bacon and collect the fat as it cooks. I haven't used it on the kitchen stove very much but it works great on a camp stove.
As you mentioned, one nice feature about the cast iron Piqua frying pan is that it has a raised ring around the outside of the bottom to keep it 1/8" off the stove so the heat is dispersed evenly without any 'hot spots.' For certain things, you just can't beat a good old cast iron pan, if it's well seasoned.
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