The 2010 February Daring Cook’s challenge was hosted by Michele of Veggie Num Nums. Michele chose to challenge everyone to make mezze based on various recipes from Claudia Roden, Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Dugid.

Well I’m a few days late posting my February 2010 DC challenge but it’s not my fault. Between posting about how proud I am to be a Canadian and how much I love all of you, it took me awhile to get to the DC challenge.

I have to say, though, it’s been a great couple of weeks for me because between the Olympic love, the Valentine’s Day love and the love of this challenge, my tummy has been very happy!

Michele challenged us to make mezze, which are a series of small dishes to be served with homemade pita (which was also part of the challenge). Michelle specified that we had to make hummus, but beyond that we could make any other mezze that we liked.

For starters, I cannot thank Michele enough for showing us how to make pita bread. Had I known it was this easy, I would have tried it long ago. And the pita was truly delicious! I made mine with a bit of wholewheat flour thrown in with the all-purpose so the pita had a bit of a darker colour and a slight nutty taste, which was very nice.

The hummus was also delicious. I’ve made hummus many times before and every time I make it I think, “Why don’t I make this more often?”

Beyond those two components, I didn’t really try a lot of recipes. I made an eggplant dip, which I blogged about last week (but kept the DC secret!!!). I would have liked to try a lot more recipes but as usual, time was in short supply. However, I look forward to making pita bread again soon and trying some more mezze.

I want to thank Michele so much for this challenge! Please take a moment to visit the DC blogroll to see what the other Daring Cooks accomplished. You can click here for the recipe.

Okay … back to the Olympics … Opa!

Ciao!

The 2009 Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Simone of Junglefrog Cooking. Simone chose Salmon en Croute (or alternative recipes for Beef Wellington or Vegetable en Croute) from Good Food Online.

From the moment I first visited Simone’s lovely site, I knew I had met a kindred spirit. Besides being a passionate cook and baker, Simone is very warm and always welcoming. You can tell I’m a big fan.

I was thrilled when she agreed to host the December 2009 Daring Cooks’ challenge, and even more thrilled with her choice of Salmon en Croute.

For me, anything wrapped in pastry is a good thing.

I’m going to keep this short because the Christmas baking is a-callin’, but I chose to make the salmon because I love it and I don’t eat enough of it.

I took a beautiful salmon fillet, removed the skin and then coated it with a mixture of cream cheese, dandelion leaves, spinach leaves, green onion, salt and pepper. I lay the salmon on a bed of puff pastry that I’d had stored in the freezer. The puff pastry was homemade (thanks to the Daring Bakers making puff pastry from scratch is a breeze!) so all I had to do was defrost it.

I baked the pretty bundle at 400 degrees F. for about 30 minutes and I ended up with a beautiful golden package that was oozing cream cheese filling.

Quite simply, it was delicious! Had I known that making this dish was so easy, I would have tried it sooner.

Thank you, Simone!

Please take a moment and visit all the other Daring Cooks to see what they cooked up!

This is the final Daring Cooks’ challenge for 2009. For a group that got it’s start this year, I’d say we’ve done remarkably well. Here’s to 2010 and all the beautiful dishes waiting to be cooked!

Ciao!

Cream Puff is back! I had an amazing vacation in Italy. I spent three weeks enjoying my family and friends, all the while surrounded by the most incredible food and wine.

And best of all, I got to stay in our little house that we finished renovating last year.

It was truly a magical vacation.

Being away meant no activity on this blog and that was a good thing. I had a lot of time to recharge and restore myself so I’m looking forward to a new season of baking and cooking, and sharing it all with you.

Of course being away also meant that I missed a Daring Baker’s challenge and today, I’m also missing the Daring Cook’s challenge for September 2009. I promise, though, that I will catch up in the coming weeks!

In the meantime, I just wanted to take a moment to say hello again to all of you and to my sweet little blog. I missed you!

Ciao!

I blogged about the plum tart pictured above here. Now that we have our very own kitchen in Italy, I took a handful of recipes with me to try and this was one of them. I made two mini tarts instead of one big one. It was delicious.

It’s Daring Cooks time and the August 2009 challenge was hosted by the gracious Olga of Las Cosas de Olga and Olga’s Recipes.

I’m always a bit in awe of people who have not one blog but two so I tip my hat to you, Olga. Of course I would tip it to you anyway for this incredibly delicious challenge.

The challenge date was, of course, August 14th, but I was having some issues and couldn’t post.

I’ll get right to it. This is just delicious. From start to finish it was a lovely recipe to make that was actually surprisingly quick (considering some of the Daring Bakers’ challenges take … like … four days!).

Without question my favourite part of the recipe was the sofregit, which was a thick, almost paste-like mixture of tomatoes, onions, mushrooms and garlic, used to enhance and flavour the rice. I loved the sofregit so much I ended up spreading some of it on bread and just eating it that way!

I loved cooking the rice in the rich liquid consisting of some white wine, water (you could have also used fish stock) and a bit of the sofregit. The cuttlefish was delicious in this dish and the artichokes and mushrooms were also very good (confession: I used artichokes canned in water.).

The only element of the challenge I didn’t make was the allioli, which is a thick, custard-like sauce meant to accompany the dish. I really wanted to make the traditional allioli, which would have required a mortar and pestle. I don’t have those. Yet.

I could go on and on, but I won’t. I really hope you try this recipe out as it’s scrumptious.

Thank you so much for broadening our horizons, Olga!

Ciao!

If you’re interested in the recipe, you can find it here.

Today is Daring Cooks’ reveal day and as you may have noticed, there’s a little something missing around here like … ohhhh … the challenge!

Never fear! I have done it but am experiencing some difficulties in posting. Will have it up as soon as I can.

In the meantime, please head over to The Daring Kitchen to check out the incredible August 2009 Daring Cooks’ challenge results.

Speaking of, have you joined The Daring Kitchen yet? If not, what are you waiting for?!

And remember, all the cook kids are wearing DK merchandise so don’t forget to stop by the store!

Ciao!

Okay.

That’s not a true story. For starters I don’t have a dog and secondly, there was no skate to be eaten.

And by skate I’m referring to the fish and not the footwear.

Don’t be afraid. I have not gone crazy.

I speak of the July 2009 Daring Cooks’ challenge that you may have noticed is missing from this blog.

For the first time in “Daring” history, I’ve missed a challenge. My apologies to Sketchy, our host for the month, but this just wasn’t meant to be. I was intrigued by his challenge, which would have had me dipping my kitchen utensils into the untried waters of molecular gastronomy (untried in our household).

There were, however, some brave souls who did give it a try and you can check them out here.

I feel really badly about this. So badly that I felt I had to give you something so instead, I give you this Fresh Fruit Tart that is also dedicated to my good friend Nazca.

Many of you will remember Nazca (Mr. Nazca as I like to call him) from his blog.

Funny guy.

But he stopped blogging and this has made women everywhere very disappointed.

Silly guy.

But Mr. Nazca did something very sweet about a month ago and I promised to thank him very publically.

After an offhand remark about cheesecake crusts and cookies (like who doesn’t talk about that all the time?), Mr. Nazca mentioned HobNob cookies to me and I immediately asked, “What’s that?”

Well as fast as you could say “call me British” a package arrived on my doorstep filled with crumpled bits of English newspaper and four (count ‘em four) supersized packs of HobNob cookies.

My first reaction was to fly to England and thank Mr. Nazca in person but then I thought that such precipitice action could a) result in stalking charges and b) be slightly too expensive.

My second reaction was to squeal and clap my hands and rip the packages open and start eating.

My third reaction was to take a picture. Strangely, the urge to eat the cookies beat out that third reaction and by the time I convinced myself to take the pictures, the cookies were all gone.

All gone, Mr. Nazca!

I am nothing if not selfish when it comes to cookies. Whle I did spare a few for Mamma Cream Puff, the vast majority were savoured by me.

So last weekend I was in the kitchen, glorying in the abundance of fresh berries and looking for a dessert to bake when I remembered this beautiful tart that I used to bake all the time. For some reason I haven’t really made it the last few summers, but it popped into my mind and I had the overwhelming urge to try it again.

This is a very basic fruit tart. It has three components: a butter crust, a vanilla custard, a berry topping. You can make the tart and custard in advance and then assemble the tart quickly before serving.

I have yet to meet anyone that doesn’t like it.

Mr. Nazca, I wish I could have sent it to you, but I don’t think it would have survived the flight. I took it to a friend’s house (she’s a new mommy) where we each enjoyed a generous serving.

But rest assured, Mr. Nazca, that I was thinking of HobNobs while I was eating it!

Ciao!

My Fresh Fruit Tart is based on the Classic Fresh Fruit Tart with Pastry Cream from the Cook’s Illustrated site. It was featured in the … issue of the magazine. It is one of my most treasured recipes. Unfortunately, as I have never adapted the recipe in any way, I don’t feel comfortable reproducing it here since I don’t have permission. You can find the recipe on the Cook’s Illustrated site but you have to pay for it.

Fresh Fruit Tart from Food & Wine.
Tarte aux Fruits from Pretty Tasty Cakes.
Fruit Tart from Joy of Baking.com.

Lis and I have realized recently that there’s some confusion about reveal dates for The Daring Bakers and The Daring Cooks so we’re taking to the Internet (you can read about this at The Daring Kitchen as well - in the forums) to clear things up.

It’s really very simple. If you’re a Daring Baker, the new host/hostess reveals the challenge on the 1st of every month in the private forum. Then, on the 27th of every month, you can publically reveal the challenge on your blog or, if you’re a non-blogger, on the DK site.

The 1st and the 27th … those are the key dates for Daring Bakers.

If you’re a Daring Cook, it’s slightly more complicated only because we go mid-month. But the host/hostess reveals the new challenge on the 17th of every month in the private forum. Then, on the 14th of the following month, you can publically reveal the challenge on your blog or, if you’re a non-blogger on the DK site.

The 14th and the 17th … those are the key dates for Daring Cooks.

For those of you who do not belong to The Daring Bakers or The Daring Cooks, I have one question … WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU!!!

Hurry up and join already!

And while you’re at it, take a look at our lovely store. Summer’s here and it’s time to stock up on some new kitchen apparel and accessories!

Ciao!

I am fascinated by the nomenclature of food. I mean who doesn’t want to walk around saying things like, “Hey. Guess what I just made. A Fraisier.”

Over the course of the past month, I’ve heard these little yummy fellows called all sorts of things but I shall call them Potstickers because a) they did and b) it’s just such a cute name.

To begin, I owe Jen of just use butter endless, and I mean endless, thanks for hosting the June 2009 Daring Cooks’ challenge (the 2nd one in our history!) and for daring us to make dumplings/potstickers/gyoza from scratch (and that includes the dough, thank you very much).

Jen requires no introduction. Her blog speaks for itself. And she is of course one of the greatest things about food blogging.

Effortlessly (at least to me), she demystified a dish that I have only ever had in Japanese restaurants and that I would NEVER EVER EVER consider making at home.

But just as quick as you can snap your fingers and say Potstickers, Ms. Jen was all here’s-how-ya’-do-it-A-B-C-1-2-3-thanks-for-coming-out.

No fuss. No muss. No five days of pre-preparation. No 57 different elements to the recipe. Just clear instructions with same great step-by-stop photos on her blog.

I call it brilliant.

Anyway, these were easy and delicious. I used a shrimp and ground beef filling. While there were some ingredients I was unable to find (i.e., bamboo shoots, chili garlic paste), I substituted by adding red pepper flakes and lots and lots of green onion.

The dough was easy to make (although I found I had to add almost a cup of water as opposed to the half cup that the recipe calls for.

I was overly indulgent while frying these and as you can see they bottoms turned a tad more mahogany then they probably should have. As well, I don’t think I rolled the dough quite as thinly but you know what, they were still so good.

Here’s a photo journal of my efforts followed by the recipe. Jen, what can I say. I call you Amazing!

I started with the dipping sauce.

I continued with the filling.

I brought up the rear with the dough, made easily in the food processor.

I rolled out my dough into small rounds, being careful to keep a slight raise in the centre.

I stuffed and folded and pinched (not so well).

I ate.

Ciao!

You can find the recipe for the dumplings/potstickers, along with some great photos, here.

Last week, in a fit of pique, my PC decided to have a little break. Of course the fact that said break clashes horribly with this whole blogging thing I have going meant little to my PC. She was miffed, and that was that.

After several days of cajoling, bribery, the PC equivalent of a luxury manicure and pedicure and of course, some money, my PC is back to behaving.

Thank goodness!

I never quite realize how much I miss my blog until I can’t have easy access to it.

I’m back and happy to be so.

When last I left you, it was the 14th of May, which was quite the glorious day for those of us that belong to The Daring Kitchen for that was the day that newly launched Daring Cooks revealed their first ever challenge.

Hosted by my partner Lis and myself, The Daring Cooks were challenged to make ricotta gnocchi.

Let me begin by saying that making ricotta gnocchi is very different from making the better known potato gnocchi. A different process and different ingredients obviously yields an end result with a very different texture.

Ricotta gnocchi are soft and almost creamy (but not to the degree that they should fall apart). They’re mild in taste, unless of course you flavour them strongly or you use a sharp sauce or cheese with them. Well-made ricotta gnocchi should be light but with enough substance to hold their shape.

As our go-to recipe for Ricotta Gnocchi, we decided to go with the best of the best and used a recipe from The Zuni Cafe Cookbook: A Compendium of Recipes and Cooking Lessons from San Francisco’s Beloved Restaurant by Judy Rodgers. Both Lis and I are tremendous fans of this books so were excited to give the recipe a go.

I have a photo journal of my Ricotta Gnocchi procedure below, so I won’t bore you with the details, especially since I’m sure that you’ve read more than enough posts about this dish in the past few days.

But what did I think of the Ricotta Gnocchi?

I found making them to be fairly straightforward. I cooked half of the gnocchi as soon as I made them. I gently placed the cooked gnocchi in a pan of sizzling butter and added lemon zest and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano to the mix.

Everyone, myself included, loved them. They soaked up the butter sauce beautifully and held their shape nicely, although they did puff up considerably. They were light, but not insubstantial.

Are you sensing a “… but”?

Here it is.

I froze the second half of the gnocchi and prepared them for dinner about a week later.

Sadly, they were awful. First of all, they puffed up considerably more than the first batch when boiled. Secondly, while the first batch was compact and relatively dry after cooking, the frozen batch took on a sponginess that was unpleasant. They looked kind of icky, too.

I know icky isn’t exactly the best word to use when describing cooking but have pity on me, that’s the best I can think of.

To be honest, I ended up dumping out the second batch as we just couldn’t eat them.

So what’s my final verdict?

Making these and serving them fresh was worth it, but I’d never freeze them again.

I am glad, though, that we tried the recipe and I’m happy to see how The Daring Cooks embraced the challenge.

As The Daring Bakers approach two-and-a-half years of life, it’s exciting to see the birth of a new group. Here’s hoping that it will be just as successful!

Here’s my photo journal of my efforts in making Ricotta Gnocchi:

The strained fresh ricotta.

The ricotta gnocchi mixture, prior to forming the gnocchi.

Scooping the mixture into the flour.

Gently forming the gnocchi.

The formed gnocchi.

Dropping the gnocch into the boiling water.

Watching the gnocchi boil.

Cooking the gnocchi in the butter and lemon sauce.

The final product.

Ciao!

Zuni Ricotta Gnocchi
Source: The Zuni Cafe Cookbook: A Compendium of Recipes and Cooking Lessons from San Francisco’s Beloved Restaurant by Judy Rodgers.

Yield: Makes 40 to 48 gnocchi (serves 4 to 6)

Prep time: Step 1 will take 24 hours. Steps 2 through 4 will take approximately 1 hour.

Tips:

- If you can find it, use fresh ricotta. As Judy Rodgers advises in her recipe, there is no substitute for fresh ricotta. It may be a bit more expensive, but it’s worth it.
- Do not skip the draining step. Even if the fresh ricotta doesn’t look very wet, it is. Draining the ricotta will help your gnocchi tremendously.
- When shaping your gnocchi, resist the urge to over handle them. It’s okay if they look a bit wrinkled or if they’re not perfectly smooth.
- If you’re not freezing the gnocchi for later, cook them as soon as you can. If you let them sit around too long they may become a bit sticky.
- For the variations to the challenge recipe, please see the end of the recipe.

Equipment required:

Sieve
Cheesecloth or paper towels
Large mixing bowl
Rubber spatula
Tablespoon
Baking dish or baking sheet
Wax or parchment paper
Small pot
Large skillet
Large pan or pot (very wide in diameter and at least 2 inches deep)

For the gnocchi:

1 pound (454 grams/16 ounces) fresh ricotta (2 cups)
2 large cold eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon (½ ounce) unsalted butter
2 or 3 fresh sage leaves, or a few pinches of freshly grated nutmeg, or a few pinches of chopped lemon zest (all optional)
½ ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated (about ¼ cup very lightly packed)
about ¼ teaspoon salt (a little more if using kosher salt)
all-purpose flour for forming the gnocchi

For the gnocchi sauce:

8 tablespoons (227 grams/1/4 pound/4 ounces) butter, sliced
2 teaspoons water

Step 1 (the day before you make the gnocchi): Preparing the ricotta.

If the ricotta is too wet, your gnocchi will not form properly. In her cookbook, Judy Rodgers recommends checking the ricotta’s wetness. To test the ricotta, take a teaspoon or so and place it on a paper towel. If you notice a very large ring of dampness forming around the ricotta after a minute or so, then the ricotta is too wet. To remove some of the moisture, line a sieve with cheesecloth or paper towels and place the ricotta in the sieve. Cover it and let it drain for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours in the refrigerator. Alternatively, you can wrap the ricotta carefully in cheesecloth (2 layers) and suspend it in your refrigerator for 8 to 24 hours with a bowl underneath to catch the water that’s released. Either way, it’s recommended that you do this step the day before you plan on making the gnocchi.

Step 2 (the day you plan on eating the gnocchi): Making the gnocchi dough.

To make great gnocchi, the ricotta has to be fairly smooth. Place the drained ricotta in a large bowl and mash it as best as you can with a rubber spatula or a large spoon (it’s best to use a utensil with some flexibility here). As you mash the ricotta, if you noticed that you can still see curds, then press the ricotta through a strainer to smooth it out as much as possible.

Add the lightly beaten eggs to the mashed ricotta.

Melt the tablespoon of butter. As it melts, add in the sage if you’re using it. If not, just melt the butter and add it to the ricotta mixture. Add in any flavouring that you’re using (i.e., nutmeg, lemon zest, etc.). If you’re not using any particular flavouring, that’s fine. Add the Parmigiano-Reggiano and the salt. Beat all the ingredients together very well. You should end up with a soft and fluffy batter with no streaks (everything should be mixed in very well).

Step 3: Forming the gnocchi.

Fill a small pot with water and bring to a boil. When it boils, salt the water generously and keep it at a simmer. You will use this water to test the first gnocchi that you make to ensure that it holds together and that your gnocchi batter isn’t too damp. In a large, shallow baking dish or on a sheet pan, make a bed of all-purpose flour that’s ½ an inch deep. With a spatula, scrape the ricotta mixture away from the sides of the bowl and form a large mass in the centre of your bowl. Using a tablespoon, scoop up about 2 to 3 teaspoons of batter and then holding the spoon at an angle, use your finger tip to gently push the ball of dough from the spoon into the bed of flour. At this point you can either shake the dish or pan gently to ensure that the flour covers the gnocchi or use your fingers to very gently dust the gnocchi with flour. Gently pick up the gnocchi and cradle it in your hand rolling it to form it in an oval as best as you can, at no point should you squeeze it. What you’re looking for is an oval lump of sorts that’s dusted in flour and plump. Gently place your gnocchi in the simmering water. It will sink and then bob to the top. From the time that it bobs to the surface, you want to cook the gnocchi until it’s just firm. This could take 3 to 5 minutes. If your gnocchi begins to fall apart, this means that the ricotta cheese was probably still too wet. You can remedy this by beating a teaspoon of egg white into your gnocchi batter. If your gnocchi batter was fluffy but the sample comes out heavy, add a teaspoon of beaten egg to the batter and beat that in. Test a second gnocchi to ensure success. Form the rest of your gnocchi. You can put 4 to 6 gnocchi in the bed of flour at a time. But don’t overcrowd your bed of flour or you may damage your gnocchi as you coat them. Have a sheet pan ready to rest the formed gnocchi on. Line the sheet pan with wax or parchment paper and dust it with flour. You can cook the gnocchi right away, however, Judy Rodgers recommends storing them in the refrigerator for an hour prior to cooking to allow them to firm up.

Step 4: Cooking the gnocchi.

Have a large skillet ready to go. Place the butter and water for the sauce in the skillet and set aside. In the largest pan or pot that you have (make sure it’s wide), bring at least 2 quarts of water to a boil (you can use as much as 3 quarts of water if your pot permits). You need a wide pot or pan so that your gnocchi won’t bump into each other and damage each other. Once the water is boiling, salt it generously. Drop the gnocchi into the water one by one. Once they float to the top, cook them for 3 to 5 minutes (as in the case with the test gnocchi). When the gnocchi float to the top, you can start your sauce while you wait for them to finish cooking. Place the skillet over medium heat and melt the butter. Swirl it gently a few times as it melts. As soon as it melts and is incorporated with the water, turn off the heat. Your gnocchi should be cooked by now. With a slotted spoon, remove the gnocchi from the boiling water and gently drop into the butter sauce. Carefully roll in the sauce until coated. Serve immediately.

Freezing the gnocchi: If you don’t want to cook your gnocchi right away or if you don’t want to cook all of them, you can make them and freeze them. Once they are formed and resting on the flour-dusted, lined tray, place them uncovered in the freezer. Leave them for several hours to freeze. Once frozen, place them in a plastic bag. Remove the air and seal the bag. Return to the freezer. To cook frozen gnocchi, remove them from the bag and place individually on a plate or on a tray. Place in the refrigerator to thaw completely. Cook as directed for fresh gnocchi.

Well, it just figures that at the same time that we’re supposed to be presenting the very first Daring Cooks challenge, my PC decides to misbehave.

It hates me. I know it does. Maybe I have to bake for it more … sigh.

Anyway, for those of you that don’t know, The Daring Kitchen now officially includes The Daring Cooks, the partner group to The Daring Bakers.

June 2009 marks our very first challenge, which just happens to be Ricotta Gnocchi based on the amazing The Zuni Cafe Cookbook: A Compendium of Recipes and Cooking Lessons from San Francisco’s Beloved Restaurant.

The challenge is being hosted by myself and my DK partner Lis.

If you have some time today, I hope you’ll check out all the ricotta gnocchi posts you’re likely to be seeing in foodblog world.

Once my PC has calmed down and decided to behave like a proper PC (hopefully in a few days), I will have my ricotta gnocchi post up.

Until then … I hope you have happy dreams of ricotta gnocchi!

Ciao!