Monday, November 9, 2009

Boot Camp + Pizza

It's been one WHIRLWIND of a day, to say the least! I'm checking in to say....


1. Boot Camp Day 1...kicked my butt. In a really good way. 
I will DEFINITELY be sore tomorrow...with Day 2 comin' up tomorrow night - Eeeek!!


2. Husband ROCKS! Check out this Organic Whole Wheat Pizza!!
I got the dough going before I left for boot camp...but he takes the cake for the finished product. *I* am feeling like a very lucky wife. Though...I did get stuck with the dishes!! :-/




2% mozzarella cheese, garlic, turkey pepperoni, red onion, and green pepper -- MMMM!!

So, question...if you could only choose ONE pizza topping, what would you choose?

Me: MUSHROOMS!

Supporting my local restaurateurs

November 9

Starting out the week by doing a good deed, because I rarely hear from restaurateurs themselves instead of publicists (true story: one publicist today sent a press release to me about an image consultant, noting the importance of a first impression, and then sent out a correction because she had misspelled her client's first name), I’d like to help out Astoria restaurateur Yann Henri (non-New Yorkers, Astoria is in the borough of Queens), who says he opened a little French place called Bistro Les Minots last March at 47-16 30th Avenue (non-New Yorkers, that’s what Queens addresses look like, and they’re quite brilliant; the number before the hyphen indicates what cross street it’s near).

The owners are French, from Paris and Marseille, and the menu is traditional French bistro fare. They serve a $16.95 prix-fixe lunch and a $19.95 prix-fixe dinner.

They also have a $19.95 all-you-can eat moules-frites special on Monday. The restaurant’s phone number is 718-606-2535.
This message has been brought to you by the fact that I’m in a good mood today.

The Ultimate Comfort Food: Gnocchi

If it’s comfort food you are after, there are few better options than gnocchi.



These little pillows of deliciousness deliver satisfaction in ways that a mound of pasta could only dream of. They have a dense chewiness and a slightly sticky texture that holds onto whatever sauce they are coated in making each one a ferocious nugget of flavour.

They almost invite you into the bowl like tiny carbohydrate Sirens, their sweet song beckoning you further and further to the bottom of the pile until you inevitably collapse in a misty fug as the last one makes its way down your throat.

Cue belly rubbing, sighs of satisfaction and the inability to move as 90% of your body’s blood rushes to your stomach as it begins fighting its way through the wheat/potato onslaught that has just descended.



The only option is to sit very still, sip the final inch of red wine that was sitting innocently in the bottle – a chianti would suit nicely – and fall into a merry doze on the sofa as mindless brain candy plays its way across your television screen. Happiness descends. Winter isn’t that bad after all.

Potato Gnocchi with tomato, chilli and oregano

Like bread baking, the secret to successful gnocchi is instinctive. Play around with the dough and I guarantee you will just ‘know’ when it’s ready. Not too sticky, not too dense and easy to roll. Make the sauce whilst the gnocchi are resting in the fridge.

Precise measurements rarely work for this type of cooking, it’s better to think in terms of ratios and various flours and potatoes behave very differently. As such there is no recipe here, merely a rough method.

Bake a large potato for an hour or so until the insides are light, steaming and fluffier than Paris Hilton’s bedspread. Scoop out the innards and let it cool in a bowl.

Weigh out how much potato you have and add 20% by weight of plain flour (example, for the dunces, if you have 200g potato, use 40g plain flour). Keep some aside for dusting and rolling.

Add an egg (roughly one egg per two potatoes)) and some salt. Mix well with your hands and knead into a pliable dough. If it’s too sticky just work more flour into it but go easy.



For rolling out the gnocchi, I find the easiest way is to divide the dough in two and roll until it becomes unmanageably long. Divide again and continue rolling, repeating the process until your dough sausage is about as thick as a plumber’s forefinger. Split into half inch sized pieces and place on a floured tray. Cover with a damp towel and refrigerate.

For the sauce, heat a generous sluice of olive oil in a frying pan, add a clove of garlic, gently biffed with the side of a knife (leave it whole so you can fish it out later) and a finely chopped chilli, heat dependent on your preference. Allow the two to flavour the oil then pour in some passata. Season with salt, pepper and oregano and allow to bubble away for 15 minutes.



Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and drop in the gnocchi. Rather helpfully they will rise to the surface when cooked so you can easily fish them out with a slotted spoon straight into the waiting sauce. Stir, serve, eat and sleep.



Oh, and keep those potato skins…(recipe to follow).

jawab saja!

Coba beri tahu saya, apa kah nama dari perasaan ini? saya bimbang, harus menyebutnya apa.

alur waktu

Semuanya telah berubah...
Yang tadinya hitam, kini memudar keabuan
Yang awalnya bersih, kini bernoda kusam
Yang terlahir suci, kini berlaku binal
Yang terasa mudah, kini menjadi sulit
Entahlah...
Itu semua hanya jalan main sebuah waktu!
Ikuti alurnya lalu akan terus melaju.
Boleh saja merasa lelah...
Tapi ada kata pantang untuk menyerah.
Semangat itu harusnya membara...
Seharusnya...
Dan aku masih mencari api
Biar nyala kembali si bara merah
Biar habis rasa dingin dalam bilik hati
Biar mencair itu perih
Biar hilang kerak dingin kata menyerah
Biar saja...
Tunggu nanti.
Beri aku waktu!
Dan aku masih mencari...

Butternut Soup

Autumn Butternut Soup 2

Nothin' beats warm soup and homemade bread on a cold, blustery day. We're talking comfort food, baby!  I'm finding out that soup is pretty souper super -- it's healthy, low-point eating, and better yet -- great for a tight budget. So, we're trying to incorporate soups into our menu planning a little more these days.

Here's a little autumn soup we tried not too long ago. Loved the flavor of the roasted butternut! Perfect for the season. Give it a try and tell me what you think...

 
Butternut Soup

2 points per serving

1 medium butternut squash (about 3 lbs.), peeled, seeded and cut into 1 inch cubes

2 Tablespoons olive oil, divided

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 large onion, chopped

3 celery ribs, chopped

2 Tablespoons minced fresh sage, or 2 teaspoons rubbed sage

3 cans (14.5 oz. each) reduced-sodium chicken broth

cooking spray

 

Place squash in a 15 x 10 x 1 inch baking pan lightly coated with cooking spray. Drizzle  with 1 Tablespoon oil; sprinkle with pepper. Toss around to coat. Bake uncovered, at 425° F for 30-35 minutes or until tender, stirring it every 15 minutes.

In a Dutch oven pan, saute the onion, the celery and the sage in the remaining oil until tender. Stir in broth and reserved squash. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until heated through. Cool slightly.

In a blender, puree the soup in batches until smooth. Return to the pan; heat through if needed. Serves 8.

:::

This recipe comes with Parmesan croutons to go with it. We chose not to make the croutons when we served it, but here's the recipe in case you do! Adding the croutons makes the soup a 3 point dish.

.

Parmesan Croutons
.

2 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 Tablespoon minced fresh sage or 1 teaspoon rubbed sage

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 cups French bread (1/2 inch cubes)

additional grated Parmesan cheese, optional

cooking spray

In a small bowl, combine the cheese, oil, sage and garlic. Add bread cubes and spritz with cooking spray; toss to coat. Place on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 425° F for 5-8 minutes or until golden brown, stirring occasionally. Serve with soup and sprinkle additional Parmesan cheese if desired.

recipe credit: Healthy Cooking magazine, October/November 2009, p.40

Butternut Squash Soup with Coconut and Sauteed Scallops

  
One of the most exotic places in the world I think are the Spice Islands. Located in the eastern part of the Indonesian archipelago, the names are evocative: Moluccas and Banda. Even the word “archipelago” seems exotic to me. I once read a book about the Spice Islands trade and the discovery of entire islands covered entirely in nutmeg or clove trees. The voyages to these places took a year, literally to the opposite end of the earth, and greeting them were South Pacific seas dotted with lush, verdant islands of tropical wonder.
Of course, the reality was much harsher. What sane person would want to ride a small, wooden boat across the ocean for a year, without air conditioning or a bath, only to confront steamy jungles, deadly local populations, and deadlier disease? And I don’t even particularly like nutmeg. Nonetheless, nutmeg is the spice of our fall season used to flavor our autumn squashes and pumpkins. I have several recipes for butternut squash soup and all are hearty and warming. But a new recipe caught my eye as a way to turn traditional fall into an exotic adventure. Another recipe from the “New York Cooks: 100 Recipes from the City’s Best Chefs,” this recipe is from Cyril Renaud, chef and owner of Fleur de Sel on East 20th Street in Manhattan. It pairs butternut squash soup with scallops, and seasons with coconut, in addition to the nutmeg. I cut the nutmeg he recommended in half from 2 tbsp to 1 tbsp and still found it too much. Thus, I recommend only 1 tsp of nutmeg, but add as much as you want. I also could not get my coconut milk to froth as he recommended, so I just added a dollop in the middle of the soup to swirl around to taste. Altogether, something fun and different. Serves 2

Ingredients:
4 tbsp olive oil
6 shallots, peeled and sliced into long, thin strips
1 whole butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces
1/3 cup coconut flakes
1 tbsp nutmeg
2 tsp salt
1 tsp white pepper
1 qt milk
8 large scallops
2 tbsp coconut milk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350o degrees. In a pot over low heat, heat 2 tbsp of oil, add shallots and saute until translucent. Raise heat to medium and add squash, sauteeing for 10 minutes while stirring periodically. Meanwhile, spread the coconut flakes evenly over a cookie sheet and bake for a few minutes to dry out. Grind the flakes in a mixer to make a powder. Take care not to grind too long or the sugars will congeal and the coconut will stick together. Add the coconut, nutmeg, salt and pepper to the squash. Pour in the milk and bring to a simmer, cooking a further 15 minutes or until the squash is very soft. Strain the squash, reserving the milk, and blend in a blender until a smooth consistency. Add some of the cooking milk if the soup needs more moisture to become a creamy soup. Set aside.
In a medium fry pan, heat 2 tbsp of oil until it begins to ripple. Season scallops with salt and pepper and add to pan, searing on one side for 3 minutes or until golden brown. Turn over the scallops and cook a minute or two longer.
To plate, ladle soup into shallow bowls. Place 4 scallops in each bowl, and spoon a dollop of coconut milk in between the scallops. Serve.